The Werewolf Mega-Bundle 2 (Ten BBW Paranormal Erotic Romance Stories) (12 page)

A crimson tinge started to creep across her face as he repeated himself. She realized how inappropriate it was to be fantasizing about another man so soon after a breakup, but hey… Jack was a complete snake, as Paul had just said.
Besides, a little fantasizing is okay. Anything that takes my mind off Jack at the moment is probably a good thing,
she thought, picturing the gorgeous lawyer naked and writhing underneath her.

A moment later, a younger man knocked and then strode into the office.

“Here’s those documents, Paul,” he said.

“Thanks, Chris. Chris, this is my new client, Ms. Wondolowski,” Paul said, gesturing to Gemma. “Ms. Wondolowski, this is my wonderful assistant.”

Gemma smiled and shook his hand.

“Call me Gemma, please. Both of you.”

He smiled and left, and Paul scanned the sheaf of papers that his assistant had just handed to him. Frowning for a moment, he looked up at her.

“Well, Gemma, the laws are pretty airtight. We might have to get a little creative. Don’t worry, though. There’s a reason I charge so much by the hour. I’m good,” he said, a devious smile creeping across his face.

Seeing the look of horror on her face at the mention of expenses, his smile grew wider.

“Don’t worry. This one’s a freebie. Any friend of Liza is a friend of mine. But don’t tell my other friends that,” he said, winking.

Gemma found herself smiling for the first time since the night before as she thanked him.
God, he’s sexy, funny AND nice. Perfect man,
she thought, surreptitiously checking out his left hand to see if he was married.
No wedding ring. Although… he’d never be interested in me. Especially in the state I’m in right now. I literally just crawled out of bed and look like I was dragged through a hedge before I got here.

“I can’t believe he actually planned this,” she said. “He literally waited until he’d been living with me for 180 days before revealing who he really was. Just so he could take my money and half my things.”

“I know. When Liza told me, I couldn’t believe that someone like him actually exists. To me, if you’re going to be with someone, then it needs to be for the right reasons,” he said. “Hold on a second. You just gave me something!”

“What?”

Another wide grin spread across Paul’s face as he handed her a calendar that had been inserted in with all the other documents. It had all the days that Jack had been living with her circled in red pen, from the day that he had moved in until yesterday.

“Are those the right dates?” Paul asked, motioning to the first and last dates.

“Well, it says he moved in on the fourteenth of January… it was the day after my birthday, so yes, that’s right. And yesterday was the eleventh of July, so again, that’s right. Why?”

“Humor me. Count the days.”

She pored over the calendar for a moment, and then looked up.

“It’s 180 days. I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“Look again,” he said. “I can’t believe your ex is so stupid that he thinks we’ll fall for this. There’s no way his lawyer hasn’t noticed this, but he’s probably hoping that we don’t so he’ll win his case.”

Gemma gazed at the calendar in confusion, and then comprehension finally dawned on her.

“Oh! This is last year’s calendar!”

“Yep. And last year was a leap year. He’s counted February the twenty-ninth as a day, but it didn’t happen this year. Really, he was only living with you for 179 days. The drugs were probably affecting him so much that he didn’t even notice which year it is,” Paul said, chuckling. “I thought this would be a hard case, but it’s the easiest I’ve ever had. Open and shut. He gets nothing. The end.”

“Oh my god! Just like that, I win?” Gemma asked, elated. “I get to keep my stuff? And I’ll get my money back?”

“Yes. You win. Well, we win,” he said, giving her a wolfish grin. “Anyway, you look like you need some more sleep. Why don’t you head home, and I’ll sort the rest of this out. I’ll give his lawyer a call right away and tell him what a joke I think he is.”

“Okay,” Gemma said breathlessly, unable to believe how easily this gorgeous man had made her problems go away.

She stood up, and he escorted her to his office door. Just as she reached the door, every hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she instinctively turned and looked over her shoulder. Paul was leaning in close to her, his eyes closed and his nose twitching again as if he were trying to inhale her entire body.

“Um. Paul?”

His eyes flew open.

“Oh, sorry. Your perfume is just so amazing. Sorry if I freaked you out,” he said, looking less-than confident for the first time.

“It’s okay,” she said, smiling.

After thanking him again and then bidding him goodbye, she headed back to her car, and as she pulled out of the parking lot, something occurred to her.
Hang on. I didn’t bother wearing perfume or anything this morning. What the hell was he talking about?

Mulling it over, she came to the conclusion that Paul was probably just a bit of a weirdo.
He’s smart and good-looking, so there has to something wrong with him,
she thought with a wry smile.
Oh well, the distraction from Jack was nice.

***

Several hours later, Gemma was curled up on the sofa in front of the TV, watching a re-run of an episode of her favorite show. She had just finished a very late dinner, and was now sipping at a glass of wine as she watched, her eyelids drooping with tiredness.

Suddenly, a noise startled her to full alertness.
What the hell was that?
It sounded like someone was crashing around outside, knocking over garbage bins. Her heart pounded, but then she remembered that it was Friday. Assuming that it was probably some drunken neighbor stumbling home and accidentally knocking a few things over on their way, she shrugged and returned her attention to the television.

Seconds later, she heard the sound again. This time, it was even louder, and she thought that she heard someone faintly calling her name. Puzzled and slightly scared, she grabbed a nearby cardigan and wrapped it around the plain purple cotton nightie that she had changed into earlier.

As soon as she stepped outside, her heart sank. It was Jack. He was obviously drunk and high as he stumbled around her front lawn, and he had not only knocked both of her bins over, but also her mailbox.

“What the hell are you doing, Jack?” she hissed as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The moon was hiding behind clouds, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.

“You bitch! You think you can get away with this?” he slurred. “I stayed with you and put up with your fat ass for so long. I deserve something for that!”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” she asked, incensed.

Stomping towards him, she gave him a piece of her mind. He had made her feel lower than dirt yesterday, but her encounter with the sexy lawyer today had filled her with a new sense of confidence.

“For the last several months, I’ve worked sixty hours a week to support us both while you sat on your ass and smoked god-knows-what drugs, as I found out last night. You used me! You’re a cheating, lying scumbag, and if you don’t get the hell off my property, I will call the police! You aren’t entitled to
anything!
” she shouted.

He glared at her and dropped the can of beer he had been holding, and Gemma continued her tirade.

“I’m glad that you did this, because now I know what a lowlife you really are. I can’t believe I didn’t notice where all the money was going. I did wonder why there was hardly ever any food in the house, even though I gave you all that money to buy groceries while I was at work.”

“That’s probably a good thing. You could do with less food,” he sneered.

“Fuck you, Jack. Seriously, get the hell off my lawn!” she screamed furiously.

He advanced towards her with a menacing glare on his face, and she shrank back from him in fear, afraid of what he might do. She had seen people in drug-induced rages do all kinds of crazy things on TV, and she suddenly realized that provoking him probably hadn’t been such a good idea.

“You stupid bitch,” he said, grabbing her by the throat. “You were lucky to have me. Why don’t I give you a taste of what you’ll be missing?”

With that, he pushed her down onto the lawn, and she screamed for help. None of the neighbor’s lights were on, so she assumed that they were either all out for the night or already fast asleep. Either way, there was no help in sight.

Jack tore off her cardigan, and she screamed and kicked, trying to fight him off as she finally understood what he was doing. His breath reeked of bourbon and cigarettes, and when she realized that she couldn’t stop him, Gemma closed her eyes and whimpered, terrified and furious at the same time. It wasn’t fair that he was so much stronger than her. She had had every right to tell him what she thought of him, and now she was being punished for it.

He grabbed both of her hands and dragged them up behind her head, pinning them there as his rough hands ran all over her thin nightie. Suddenly, a low growl came from somewhere nearby, and Jack’s hands released her wrists. Gemma opened her eyes and saw an enormous wolf lunging towards them, and seconds later, Jack was being dragged away in its massive jaws.

The wolf snarled ferociously as it tore and bit at Jack with its sharp claws and teeth, and Gemma watched with her mouth open as she saw the blood begin to flow from a deep gash on his chest.

“Help me!” he shouted, but she was frozen in place, terrified that the wolf was going to come after her next.

She hadn’t even been aware that wolves lived in this part of the country, and as it drew its head back and bared its teeth in fury, she caught a glimpse of its eyes. They were glowing a bright amber color, and she gasped, having never seen anything quite like it. If she hadn’t been so afraid, she would have admired the beast’s rugged beauty and bright eyes.

Jack whimpered and moaned, and finally, the wolf sat back on its haunches, seemingly admiring its handiwork. Gemma’s legs were still frozen, and she watched in horror as it began to undergo some strange and awful transformation.

As it sat back, its paws seemed to morph into hands and feet, and its muzzle receded into a face. It all seemed like a blur, and seconds later a fully-grown, powerful man was standing in its place, glaring down at Jack.

Gemma’s hand flew to her mouth as she realized who it was.
Paul Van Lykan.
If he was what she thought he was, his name suddenly made sense to her now.
Van Lykan… lycan… werewolf!

His eyes continued to blaze with fury as he looked at Jack, who was still whimpering and clutching his chest, and before he spoke, a completely inhuman growl rumbled out from his throat.

“Get out of here. If you ever return, I’ll finish the job. Don’t bother trying to report this, because no one will believe you. Go!”

Jack slowly got up, his arms and legs shaking. He couldn’t meet Paul’s eyes, and he didn’t so much as even glance in Gemma’s direction as he hobbled back over to his car. As he drove away, Paul turned and looked down at Gemma, the look on his face more concerned than angry now. He crouched down next to her and reached a hand out.

“Gemma. Are you okay? I could smell your fear from miles away. I came as fast as possible,” he said.

“I’m alright,” she whispered after finally finding her tongue. “What… what are you? A werewolf? Is this a dream, or have I been put on some sort of weird reality show?” she asked, her brain still not quite comprehending what she had just witnessed.

“Yes. Our kind founded this county, as I guess you might have realized had I given you more time to take all of this in.”