Page 17 of Howl for Me
“What the fuck—”
She glares at me, jaw clenched, eyes bright with that stubborn fire I’m already too familiar with. “Enough. Okay?” she snaps. “Look, you don’t like me, I don’t like you. But we both have a job to do. So let’s do it and be done.”
I lean in. Close enough to watch that pulse in her throat jump.
“I don’t like being told what to do,” I murmur.
My hand reaches out for the glass again, but before I can grab it, she lifts it and knocks it back in one go. Her eyes water as herthroat works into a tight swallow. She tries not to wince at the burn and I almost laugh.
Almost.
She slams the glass down and meets my stare, like she’s daring me to say something. “Too bad. I refuse to let you mess this up for me.”
There’s a grit in her voice. A hard edge that wasn't there before. “I need this,” she says, quiet but not soft. “And from the sound of Hector’s voice, I think you do too. So cut the dramatic bullshit, Johnny. I’m not going anywhere.”
A knock at the door snaps the tension.
“We’re ready on set!” one of the crew shouts from the hall.
I glance at Cassidy and give her a slow, knowing smile. “Showtime.”
She rolls her eyes so hard I’m surprised her neck doesn’t snap, but she follows me anyway. I walk ahead, satisfied. Got out of rehearsing. Again.
The set’s been dressed to look like a cozy bedroom. A soft haze clings to the low lighting and Stacy’s already stretched out on the bed in a sheer baby-doll nightgown, legs curled, pretending to sleep like this is a fairy tale and not the kind of fantasy that ends in fur and fangs and screaming.
Cassidy stays just off-set, clipboard hugged to her chest like its armor. I can feel her watching. I can smell her watching and for the first time in a long time… I’m excited for a shoot.
It’s not Stacy. She’s done this before. Hell, she’d fuck a swamp thing if the check cleared. No, it’s the fact that Cassidy is about to see what I really am. That wide-eyed disbelief will turn into horror any second now. She’ll be gone before I unzip my pants.
At least, that’s what I tell myself.
A voice calls out, “Rolling!”
The overhead lights cut, replaced by moody blue shadows as the cameras hum to life. I step into the frame. The room’squiet except for the sound of my footsteps on the floor. I creep forward, the “boyfriend” in the script who isn’t supposed to be here. The monster behind the mask.
Stacy shifts under the sheets, murmuring, “Alex? What are you doing here?”
I can’t even remember what I’m supposed to say, so I don’t say anything. I just move as I’m ripping the sheet back in one sharp motion.
She gasps, clinging to the covers like she’s surprised. “Alex, we said our goodbyes. I told you, I can’t be with you anymore.”
I lower my voice. “Yes, you can. That other guy can’t do the things I can.”
She raises a brow, sticking to her role. “And what can you do?”
I grab her, pull her to me, and kiss her, hard, aggressive. Her hands fist in my shirt, lips parting but my eyes don’t stay on her. They drift just off camera.
Cassidy.
She’s staring with her mouth parted and her eyes wide. Innocent. The raw purity in her gaze has my cock twitching before I even think to control it.
Fuck.
The kiss deepens. Stacy arches beneath me, giving the camera everything. My hand moves up her thigh, pushing the gown aside. She moans for the audience. For the paycheck. For the monster.
My pulse kicks.Now.
The shift starts in my spine; always there first. A snap, like a bone breaking in slow motion, curling my shoulders forward until I can feel the weight of the wolf pressing from the inside out.
