Sapphire: A Werewolf Love Story (4 page)

He holds the door open and my body brushes up
against him as I scoot past.  If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn I
heard him growl. 

~~~~~~

PARKER

I’m attracted to this girl like no other before
her.  Every move she makes is graceful with confidence.  I have to remind
myself not to stare at her lips, but damn they are gorgeous.  I caught myself
imagining what her lips would look like in blood-red lipstick.  Over dinner, I
noticed her hands, across her knuckles are small white scars.  The same as
mine, and something tells me they’re from similar events.  I’ve punched enough
people to recognize scars from hitting something or someone.  The idea of her
being a fighter brings forth the primal instinct in me.

I leaned against the Prius as she dug through her
car for her sandals.  I’d clicked on the silent car via remote.  The view from
where I stood was picture perfect.  Sapphire was bent over digging in her back seat;
one knee is propped on the door frame for balance.  Her dress barely covered
her ample ass, which didn’t bother me.  She reached further into her car, her
back in a perfect arch and my mind is imagining many things.  By the grace of
the almighty, an Oklahoma breeze stirred  and her dress blew up enough to get
an eyeful of her sublime behind.  The gentleman in me turned my head, my wolf
scolded me for not covering her up before someone else sees what he has claimed.

I hear her giggle and the rustling of her getting
out of her car.  Breathing in deeply, I smell pheromones all around her.  It
dawns on me, she wanted me to see that lacy thong on her tan ass.  She is a bad
girl.  Damn.

“Would you like to stop for a cocktail before we go
for a walk?”  I ask.  The look on her face brightens as she says she’d love
to.   Her hair blows back with the wind, exposing her long, tan, exquisite
neck.  Her mouth is made for kissing…and other things. 
In time…it will
happen.
 I want to have sex with her, devour her, and take her into
my
world.  I need to be a part of
her
world.  She isn’t a one night
stand…no, she’s more.

Downtown is hopping with clubs and trendy places to
get a drink.  We find a small bar off the main tourist route.  The place is
dark with a fancy bar and a few round tables.  The place is practically empty,
with the exception of two tables with couples at them.

The bartender crosses over to us with a bar rag in
his hand drying off a glass.   He looks like a clean-cut kid from the suburbs. 
“What’s your poison for the night?”

Sapphire is still leaning on the bar next to her
stool.  “What kind of specials do you have tonight?” She asks.

“Domestics are a dollar, imports are three dollars
and all well drinks are two dollars.”

“I’ll take a spiced rum and coke.”  Sapphire sits
down after she places her order.

I smell marijuana on the bartender and change my
mind about him being clean cut.  “Make sure that’s Captain Morgan’s, and I’ll
have a Jack and coke.”

“Yes sir, will this be together?”  The bartender is
starting to piss me off with his stupid questions.

Sapphire reaches over and puts her hand on my knee. 
If I didn’t know better, I’d say she knows I’m irritated with him. 

“The lady is with me, open a tab for us, under
Parker.” 
What a damn idiot.  Who does that? 
Sapphire’s hand is still
on my knee and I begin to focus on her again.  The drinks are set in front of
us and I handed him my Visa for my tab.

He taps the Visa on the bar for a second.  “Are you
here for the show?”

“I didn’t realize there was a show,” I reply.

“The show starts in an hour; we’re hosting a
traveling burlesque show from New York.  They love to have audience
participation.  There’s a pole if your lady-friend would like to practice.”

Before I could mentally pull back from killing this
guy, I bounce up from my seat.  I lean over the bar and grab him by his shirt. 
“Did you insinuate that my girl is a stripper?  You better think long and hard
about your answer.”

“The only long and hard I want is you, not your
trampy girlfriend,” the soon to be dead bartender admitted.

“Trust me, you aren’t getting anywhere near me.  I’d
suggest you bite your tongue before you say anything…and I mean ANYTHING to me
again,” every word drips venom from Sapphire’s mouth. 
Damn.
 

Sapphire stands up and wraps her arm around my waist
and reminds me this guy isn’t worth the time of day.  The General will be
impressed I didn’t rip this guy’s head off five minutes ago.  A man from across
the room comes over to find out what’s going on.  As he approaches, I notice
he’s a guy that comes to the farm for produce and day old bread that we would
throw out.  Honestly, Dolly makes the bread for him, and it is always fresh
that day.  Fresh baked food doesn’t last long enough to become old with a pack
of werewolves around.  The minute he recognizes me, he takes his focus off us
and turns to the bartender.  He yells at him about being rude to straight
couples.  He apologizes to us and hands me my credit card.

“Parker right?”  The man asks and holds his hand out
to me.  “I’m Stan DeGeare, I stop by and get the day old bread and produce from
your farm.” Stan shrugs his shoulders and waves his hands around nervously.  “I
take the food over to the unwed mother house downtown.  It’s a charity near and
dear to my family.”

I try to give him a friendly face, since Pru is
always saying I look too serious.  “I remember you Stan.  No harm done.”

“I’m sorry about our bartender.  He gets antsy
around men he’s attracted to.  Drinks are on the house.  Please stay for the show;
it will be a full house…so get a table before it’s too late.  Would you like
some homemade chips?”

I shake my head at Stan.  “You didn’t need to fire
him.”

“Ah, no I didn’t fire him; he’s from a temporary
service.  Can I get you anything?” 

“Nothing for me, except I could use a refill,”
Sapphire says and holds up an empty glass.

Her hand is behind my back and rubbing it up and
down.  I pull her over closer and put my arm over her shoulder.  “Would you
like to stay for the show?”

“Sounds like fun, I’ve never been to one before.” 

I’ve never been to one before either, although I did
watch that movie with Cher and Christina Aguilera.  It was Pru’s movie choice
for the pack to watch on movie night.  “If you’d rather go walk the gardens we
can.”

“This sounds like fun…I mean, what isn’t fun when a
pole and alcohol are involved?”  She smiles at me mischievously.  “Don’t get
your hopes up about me getting on that pole.  I try my best not to strip on the
first date.”

Without an invitation, I bent over and kiss her. 
The softness of her mouth is everything I’d hoped it to be.  The only show I
want to watch is her doing anything…as long as we’re alone.  I take my hand and
stroke the side of her face and give her a light bite on her lower lip.  “You’re
something else, Sapphire.”  She blushes as she looks up at me.  Yeah, this is
going to be a relationship I should run from now.  We walk over to a table
close to the stage.  She picked it, I grin at her as we sit down. 

She pulls a chair over for her purse. Looking around
the room, I catch a glimpse of the table across the room, four guys and two
girls.  Behind us, three girls entered through the front door, each dressed in
black shorts and tight white t-shirts; typical bar waitress outfits.  All I can
think about is Sapphire’s taste on my lips.  I need to talk to the General
about this quandary.

~~~~~~

SAPPHIRE

I bend over to grab my shoes; I decide to flirt a
little.  Out of nowhere a good old Oklahoma breeze catches my dress and blows
it up…exposing my butt…and new thong.  Ruby will die when I tell her.  I wish I
could be more like her at times.  She’s a tomboy and likes to ride dirt-bikes
with the guys; she’s even saved up enough to buy a Harley.  My passion is a
good book; a bottle of wine, and a bubble bath.

Standing up, I straighten out my dress, and drop my
keys into my purse.  He noticed my thong, no doubt, I can tell by the twinkle
in his eye.  He turns around and pulls open the door to the Prius.  It dawns on
me, it’s his car.  This big, hunky mans man drives a Prius.  I love it!  I
would have guessed him to be a truck guy.  If I’d placed a bet on what kind of
car he drives, I would’ve lost.

“I hate to be obvious, but you drive a Prius,” I
announce.

“It’s my way of minimizing my footprint on the
environment.  I get a lot of flack about the Prius from the guys out at the
farm.”  He pats the dash and smiles crookedly at me.  “I like to see the
reactions I get when I pull up to Big Bob’s Feed store in Choctaw.”

“I bet!”  Everything about him is different from
other guys I date.  Sure he’s rugged and charming, tall yet grounded.  He’s
real, and I want to pinch him to make sure…and I’d hope he’d pinch me back. 
Naughty
girl
, I scold.

His easy-going demeanor has me at ease as we drive
across town to the city gardens.  Back in elementary school, my Big Sister from
Big Brothers and Big Sisters drove me downtown to the gardens.  It was one of
those special days when everything seemed perfect. For a moment, I wasn’t poor,
or dressed in dirty clothes.  I was a kid that got to go to a real ice-cream
parlor and I didn’t have to share with Ruby.  The parlor sold half-gallons of
the most popular flavors.  My Big Sister sent me home with a half-gallon to
share with my family.

 I lean back on the headrest and smile at the
memory.

Being poor wasn’t a big deal growing up in our small
town.  My life wasn’t horrible, and we weren’t the only family at school who
was poor.  I knew of kids who didn’t get anything to eat for dinner.  The free
lunch and breakfast at school was the only meal many kids ate, and when
weekends came they didn’t eat at all.  My mom worked hard, but bills were hard
to pay when you make minimum-wage.  After years of sacrifice and a first-time
buyers grant, mom was able to buy the duplex. It’s worked out for all of us. 
We pay mom rent for our side of the house and it covers her mortgage. 

“You’re quiet, is something bothering you?”  Parker’s
facial hair doesn’t hide the look of concern on his face.

I smile as I turn to face him.  “No, I’m perfect.  I
was remembering a time I came down here as a child.”

The rest of the ride is filled with chatter about
the different landmarks scattered around downtown.  By the way he talked about
the farm he works at makes me shiver.  The way he’s so sure of himself without
being cocky makes my mind wonder if he’s the same in bed. 

We pull up to a valet parking area centrally located
in the heart of the hip and trendy area.  You can find everything from family
friendly shops to dance clubs that cater to the vampire lovers.  Ecstasy and
alcohol, combined with laser lights, eyeliner, and short skirts, render the
perception skewed.  I hate those kinds of places, the lighting messes with my
eyes, and I feel as though nothing is real.

The valet checks us out as we climb out of the car. 
Parker walks around to my side and puts his arm around my waist protectively. 

“I thought his jaw was going to hit the ground when
he saw you get out of the car,” I whisper.

“I tend to get that reaction,” Parker grinned.

The bar is fancier than the places I typically go
with the girls.  The idea of watching a burlesque show with Parker makes me
nervous.  I’ve gone into a few of the strip clubs when my friend  Jacque is
hunting down her man.  He’s the worst boyfriend on the planet, and nine out of
ten times, we find him catting around with a hoochie.  This place exudes sex,
from the overly hot gay bartender, to the dance floor with stripper poles and
cages.  It’s still early, but the lights are dim enough to give it the
club-feel.  The clientele doesn’t have any preppy people.  Instead, I see more
couples than singles, and everyone is laughing and touching one another.

I excuse myself to the ladies room to touch up my
lipstick.   The bathroom attendant is dressed in a black cat-suit that is
hugging her perfect body.  Her thick blonde hair is held back by a rhinestone
rubber-band.  Her barely there nude lipstick draws your attention to her black eyeliner
around her eyes.  Good thing Parker can’t come into the ladies room, he’d
possibly run off with her. 

I reach in my bag to get my cell phone.  I mentally
congratulate myself for adding the rhinestone phone-case to match my dress.  Ruby
is always harassing me for not adding enough bling to my outfits.   The
attendant is watching me too closely for my comfort, so I go into the farthest
stall.  Three missed texts.  The first one is from Ruby:

RUBY - STONE SCORED TWO TIX TO SEE THE
DALLAS COWBOYS.  MOM WANTS TO RIDE WITH US SO SHE CAN VISIT AUNT JOCELYN.  THE
HOUSE IS YOURS UNTIL TUESDAY.  HAVE FUN.

MOM - PLEZ TAKE CARE OF JACKASS, HIS
FOOD IS IN THE PANTRY. I LOVE YOU, I WILL TELL JOCELYN THAT YOU SENT YOUR LOVE.

STONE - If I leave mom & sis in
Texas, don’t judge me. LOL - be good, no parties! <3