Page 25 of Feral

“No, no, nothing like that,” I said, pushing against him until he let me go. “They wanted my help with a situation in Dublin. I’m actually going undercover on my first field mission. Isn’t that exciting?!”

I bounced on my toes and clapped my hands together, as the fear took a momentary backseat.

Reggie’s huge brown eyes stared at me, his wings fluttering, and then he smiled.

“I knew that someday, someone would recognize how wonderful you are. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Reggie, truly that is so very kind of you. Now, I have a mountain of work to do before meeting my contact and leaving tomorrow. You can have the rest of the day off, spend some time with Peter if you’d like, I’m sure he could use the company. And while I’m gone, you’re in charge.”

“Wait, what?” he gulped.

“You can do it. I know you can. Just put any shipments you’re unsure of to the side and I’ll take a look when I get back. It shouldn’t be longer than a few days at most. I’m going to finish up a few things before leaving.”

The air shimmered to my left and Reggie flushed.

“Thanks, Peter,” he whispered before turning back to me. “I won’t let you down.”

“Of course you won’t.”

I gave him one last hug before going to my office and finishing up the work from this morning. The Druid artifacts still needed some attention, but no matter how much I tried to focus on the fascinating pieces, my mind kept wandering to what I might expect from tonight.

Despite the glamour, there had been the barest hint of something primal underneath Fraser’s rugged good looks. A touch of a beast, leashed but wanting to come out. Would I get to see that side tonight, in my apartment? Now that I was alone in my office, my mind seemed to think it was alright to shed the academic questions and latch onto the more basic ones. Would the bite be an arousing act? Would it hurt a lot? Or would the pain be erotic? Would he want sex with me after? Would I want that? Would we both be overwhelmed with the desire enough to throw caution to the wind?

Will I, at last, experience being with a creature?

The question sent a rush of heat through me and my cheeks flushed.

In college, my studies about sex and culture had led me to the intersection of the macabre and sexual fantasy. I’d told myself it was just for study, that it wasn’t anything more. And then I’d begun to have sex dreams about monsters dragging me out of my bed and doing darkly erotic acts with me in their lairs.Or chasing me through the night, ignoring my cries for help and taking me rough on the soft floor of a forest. It had been embarrassing at first, but the more I studied the more I realized that this was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a kink, one that might be different than others, but that didn’t make it bad.

Fast forward to me attempting to write on that very subject for an end of year project and I suddenly had to face just how much shame there really was in academic circles when it came to sex, of any kind, but especially a kink like dub con monster boinking. And then there was the way my colleagues, and boyfriend, at the time had treated me when they found out about my interest. I’d never been able to forget the looks of disgust that had been shot my way. Or the whispers about the kind of woman that would wantthatkind of sex.

After that experience, I’d kept it my desires strictly in the realm of masturbatory fantasy, never telling another person about it for fear of their reaction.

Now here I was, about to receive a mating bite from a very sexy Werewolf. To say that I was aroused was a severe understatement.

But I have to remember that all this is for a cover story. It’s not real! I cannot confuse fiction with fact. I can’t run away with any of my fantasies tonight.

The thought sent my erotic hopes crashing and I was back down to earth, faced with the realities of the mission before me. I straightened my shoulders and tried to put a lid on my libido.

Best to face this rationally.

But the moment I pictured Fraser’s huge, muscled frame morphing into an equally large, fur covered Werewolf, my best intentions disintegrated and I was carried away on whimsy.

I wonder if he’ll hold me during the bite…he’d have to wouldn’t he?

My breath picked up at the thought of being pressed against that huge body, of having his teeth sink into my flesh, marking me as his.

His…I’m going to be…No, best not to think about it like that. This is necessary for my cover, that’s all. Nothing more.

But the damage to my focus had been thoroughly done and now I was flushed, my heart racing. I could almost feel his huge hands on my body. Would I be chest to chest with him, or would he pull my back to his front?

Would he be gentle or primal?

Would his eyes still be that rich brown from his glamour, or would they be yellow?

Wonderfully lurid thoughts unspooled in my mind, and I tried desperately to bring it all back to an academic focus.

Tried, and failed miserably.

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