IcySeduction (11 page)

“Yeah.”

“Also not so safe for me. What do you do with Dean?”

“His mom always takes him. She knows I won’t budge on that. Dean
doesn’t need to know about this side of me.”

“But you want me to.”

“Only because of this mate thing. I wouldn’t burden you with
it otherwise. In fact, I probably would’ve managed never to see you again
because I wouldn’t want to complicate your life like this.”

“Have you ever just chained yourself up in a bathroom or
something?”

“No.” A grin blossomed on his face. “But I have acquired
quite a bit of bondage gear lately.”

“Good quality gear? Not novelty items?”

“Handcuffs, chains, ropes…the real stuff. You could come to
my apartment, make sure I’m secure for your safety. You’d have to unlock me
after. I’d have to trust you on that.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” She sat down on the kitchen stool and
gave Jake a serious look. “But what if you don’t change? What if I tell you
that you never changed? Would you believe me? Would you consider seeing a
doctor?”

“Absolutely.” Jake had no problem agreeing to this because
he had no doubt about what he was. “So you’ll be able to fly up? I can pay your
way.”

“No, I’ve got some frequent flyer miles and I can take a day
or two off work with no problem. But I still don’t believe a word you’re saying
about this. If you’re lying for attention, it’s going to end embarrassingly for
you. But if you’re delusional, I’ll try to help you face it and find help.”

Jake kissed the top of her head. “I understand.” He’d be
almost as skeptical if someone told him they were a vampire. Almost…but he now
knew there was at least one race of mythical beings alive in New York, why
couldn’t there be more?

They kissed awkwardly at the car as Christine left for work.
Then Jake got himself and Dean bundled back together and headed to the airport,
hoping they’d find a flight leaving in the next couple of hours. Then he got Dean
unplugged long enough to discuss the test he had missed and to help him study.
He called the school to set up a make-up time, but also to ask why the teacher
had called his ex-wife instead of his cell phone when he’d already gotten the
okay to take Dean out of school. It galled him that Lynn got to call him on a
mistake when most of the time she didn’t care what Dean was doing in school at
all.

Once they were finally on the plane and safely in flight,
between dozes, Jake found himself reliving the club scene with Christine. When
that made his pants too uncomfortable, something he didn’t want Dean to notice,
he turned to wondering if there was some way to do a disconnect on this mate
thing. Since the curse was originally caused by Native American magic, could it
be broken with magic? Jake tried to imagine his life as a human. Would it be
different? He wouldn’t be able to go back and change the frustration, loneliness,
doubts and pain he’d already gone through. He’d still be a divorced cabby with
a bitch of an ex-wife and a teenage son. Truthfully, he thought he’d miss those
full-moon nights running free, away from the city, away from daily worries. The
pain during the change had waned a lot over the years, or maybe he’d stopped
noticing.

He’d have a bit more time to get into the BDSM scene.

But what if the curse couldn’t be broken but magic could be
worked on the mate bond itself? Had anyone tried? Were there any true Native
American shamans around anymore?

Damn, he’d miss Christine, though. Were his intense feelings
from the bond or from the amazing experiences they’d been having together or
from the woman herself, who he’d liked and been attracted to from the first
moment she’d stepped into his cab? How could he possibly be objective in any of
this?

Christine found herself looking forward to Jake’s emails and
his replies to her comments on Facebook. It had been a week since he’d gone home,
leaving only a week until she would visit him for the full moon. She was heavy-hearted
knowing that that would be the end of their relationship. Hopefully she could
at least help him face things. But she refused to ruin the present with
thoughts about their doomed end. So far the only preparation she’d made for the
trip was reserve the flight and buy a Taser and pepper spray. The man at the
survivalist store had also showed her how to use the Taser and let her try it
out on a couple of store mannequins to get a feel for it. He said one zap would
bring a grown man to his knees.

But online things between her and Jake were light and sexy.
She was learning more about his likes outside of BDSM, fave movies and music.
They’d chatted a bit about high school memories and screwy dates and early
jobs. He’d told her more about his marriage and how that blew up. She liked him
best when he talked about Dean because she could tell what a thoughtful father
he was and how much he loved his son. No matter how mentally ill Jake was, he
was a truly good father.

Christine dreamed about Jake every night and thought about
him every day, about what they’d done, about his face and eyes and hands on
her, the sound of his voice, his scent, his sense of humor and the things they
had in common. They flirted during late-night chats, but Christine had resisted
his suggestions to go further, such as sexting or using Skype. This werewolf
thing was too big between them.

He called her to check on her plans. “Do you want to come up
a night early so we can…um…enjoy ourselves?”

She squirmed in her seat wanting more than anything to say
yes. “No. I’ll come in that morning.”

“How long are you staying?”

She thought it best to be noncommittal. “We’ll see.”

* * * * *

Jake was a bundle of nerves as he sat in his cab outside
Newark airport. He’d actually parked in short-term so he wouldn’t have to fend
off people jockeying for a taxi. He was picking up Christine, not taking fares.
Lynn had Dean, so the apartment would be empty when they got there. Before
driving to the airport, he’d emptied the biggest closet in the apartment,
tossing the displaced items into Dean’s room temporarily. Then he’d rigged up a
board with eyehooks to which he securely attached chains. He’d laid out metal
cuffs, which he hoped wouldn’t dig into his wolf legs too much, but he’d have
to risk it. The main thing was the collar. It was heavy leather with metal
buckles and spikes that bent in such a way that they’d poke into his neck if he
tugged against the collar. He’d never use such a thing on a real dog, but in
this case, Christine’s safety was paramount.

He really wished she would’ve consented to coming in early
and just spending some normal time with him, but perhaps that would’ve been too
awkward with her thinking him a loony the whole time. Of course, the terms “loony
“and “lunatic” had to do with the full moon, so perhaps the label was accurate.

Saron had been out of the country the past two weeks, so
Jake hadn’t been able to ask him more about the mate thing or the possibility
of breaking the bond. Well, one step at a time.

He glanced at the dashboard clock. The time was right, so he
turned off the ignition, got out and locked the car and made his way to the
terminal to meet Christine. She’d said she wasn’t going to check any luggage,
so as long as the flight was on time, she should be able to breeze right
through the airport. Jake glanced at the bank of screens that gave the flight
statuses. It looked as if her flight was on time, so she should be landing and
disembarking within ten minutes. He decided to grab a coffee from a vendor and
wait just outside the security area, but one sip of the coffee told him that
was the wrong idea. His senses had been in a heightened state all day, the moon
making its presence felt even before it would be visible in the sky. Normal
city sounds plucked his nerves like violin strings, which was why he normally
liked to go out to the compound a day early. Now the so-so coffee tasted rancid
on his tongue, plopping into his roiling stomach, making him want to vomit. He
tossed the cup in the trash and found a seat where he could watch anyone
leaving the security area. He was used to the extreme sensations that coincided
with his change, but his worry about Christine’s reaction made him even more
out-of-sync than usual.

What if she’d changed her mind and not even gotten on the
plane? He’d be stuck in the city without someone to help him go into lockdown.
Stupid! He should’ve asked someone pack-friendly for backup. Saron had human
staff who knew his secret and could help when needed, and he got the impression
others in the group had had to rely on human friends in emergencies. At the
very least, he could attach the collar himself and close the closet door. He’d
be fine, except for figuring out a new way to get through to Christine.

He smelled her even before he saw her. She was here, thank
God. She came trudging around the corner in the midst of a handful of other
commuters with her luggage bag rolling behind her. Her hair was a bit mussed
and her mascara a bit smudged, but Jake immediately wanted to grab her and kiss
her hot and heavy. However, her expression, when she caught sight of him, sent
up a warning flag. She nodded at him in acknowledgment but without a welcoming
smile. Damn, that stung, but he put a smile on his face anyway. He was relieved
and happy to see her.

“May I?” he asked, gesturing for her carry-on bag. “How was
the flight?”

Ignoring his smile, Christine gave Jake the handle of her
rolling bag, which he shortened so he could carry it instead of slouching over
to roll it. “Short delay in Atlanta, fine otherwise.” She was using the tone of
voice she used at her office, friendly yet professional, detached. The whole
flight had been wretched, but not because of the airlines. It was the worry and
indecision that had been killing her the four hours since she’d left home. “How’s
Dean?”

“He’s good, with his mom. He told me to say hi to you, which
means he doesn’t hate you.”

She relaxed a little. She had liked Dean. “High praise from
a teenager, huh?”

“Exactly.”

“Are you hungry? Want to grab a bite before we head to my
apartment?”

Christine had tried to eat some during the layover in
Atlanta, but her stomach had objected. She’d only managed some saltines and
soup, and now her stomach was knotted even tighter. “Um, I’m not really hungry
right now. Do you have snacks in your apartment in case I want something later?”

“No problem. And New York is the land of delivery, any time
day or night.”

Jake guided her to the short-term parking area where he’d
left his cab. The outside air was probably less than eighty degrees with less
humidity than in Florida, but it seemed denser and oddly metallic. Maybe that
was just their proximity to the airport. Jake loaded her suitcase into the
trunk, then opened the passenger door for her. She buckled herself in as she
waited for him to come around to the driver’s side. In a few minutes, they were
leaving airport parking, but traffic kept them from getting anywhere else very
quickly.

“Settle in. This’ll take a while.”

“Should I have come into La Guardia?”

“Still would’ve had to get off the island into Manhattan, so
pretty much the same either way. Want to listen to some music or the news?”

“Maybe later.”

Though Jake wove through traffic expertly, she thought she’d
better let him concentrate. Besides, she needed the silence to try to calm her
nerves.

Someone behind them slammed on their horn. Jake flipped the
guy the finger in the rear-view mirror, then gave Christine a quick grin. She
had to laugh.

“Gotta think of it like a video game. Imagine dinging their
tires with virtual lasers.”

“I love the racing games where you can hit the rear end of
the other car and send it spinning off sideways into a wall.”

“Then it flips over and over. Flames everywhere, no one
hurt.”

She nodded. “Unlike real-life road rage.”

“The cabbies, buses and limos, we all got a little dance we
do. It’s the scary out-of-town tourists in their SUVs you got to watch out for.”

“Best for all concerned if I don’t ever drive around here.”

Jake winked at her. “Public transpo helps the environment
and the economy. I think I saw some ad on that.”

It took an hour to get through the tunnel to Manhattan, but
Christine was feeling much more relaxed. Jake hadn’t forced the werewolf issue
by bringing it up. Maybe he’d just forget the whole thing? It would still be an
issue that he’d tried to convince her of it in the first place, but by tomorrow
morning she would safely be able to say she wasn’t his life mate because he
wasn’t a werewolf. There were no such things as werewolves. On that firm
footing, she could tell him things weren’t going to work out, they lived too
far apart, yada yada.

Jake seemed to start when they first came out of the tunnel.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter. Christine glanced around to see if
something had caught his attention. The city was making the confused transition
from day to twilight, more lights coming on though they weren’t yet needed. The
sun no longer visible above the buildings and the shadows growing long. It was
when they passed a vacant lot that Christine saw the low-hanging orb slowly
rising above the river. The moon was dim because it was still technically
daytime, but big and white. A weird sound came out of Jake’s throat and when
she glanced at him, his features seemed shadowed and his knuckles white from
his tense grip on the steering wheel.

“Are you all right?” she asked him as the moon quickly
ducked out of view, hidden behind concrete and glass walls.

“Rising early tonight. I should’ve had you take an earlier
flight.” His voice sounded strained.

“We’re almost to your place, right?” Did he have
psychosomatic symptoms from just viewing the moon or was this some sort of act?

He nodded stiffly. “Five minutes.”

They didn’t see the moon for the rest of the ride since they
parked in a shaded lot next to Jake’s building and took the elevator up to his
apartment. Since his building was fairly short compared to others around it,
they might not be able to see the moon the rest of the night. Christine was
suddenly quite thankful for that, even though it was completely unreasonable.
The moon only affected the tides, not people.

“Home sweet home,” Jake said, the old saying reminding
Christine of her father. “Would you like a drink or anything?”

She shook her head. This was her second time in this
apartment and she felt even more awkward than the first. “Um, where should I
put my stuff?”

“I’ll put it in the bedroom for you. You can sleep in my bed
since I won’t be using it.” He grinned, but there was worry in his eyes. He
crossed into his room. She followed but stopped at the door. He sat the
carry-on bag on a straight-backed chair near the window, then gestured to his
closet. “Come over here and see what I’ve set up.”

“In the closet?” She did as told, though she kept glancing
at the bed and thinking about all the things they’d done that first time she
was here and just how much that had opened her eyes. She tried not to sigh at
the thought that she had to deal with Jake’s delusions rather than let him
spank her and fuck her all night long.

Jake could tell by Christine’s expression that she still
didn’t believe a thing he was saying about being a werewolf. He caught her
glancing at the bed and he could smell her faint arousal. God, he’d love to
push her down onto the sheets and ravish her. He wouldn’t have minded a few
minutes’ foreplay if she’d seemed open to the idea, but he understood her
current caution. If only he were deluded, if only she could prove to him that
he was deluded, how much simpler his life would be.

He opened the closet door and flicked on the light. Might as
well show her all the crazy stuff now and pray she didn’t run off before she
could see the truth. He noticed her eyes grow wide as she spotted the collar,
shackles and eyehooks, instead of the usual clothes and shoes that belonged in
closets. “Okay, so the collar is the most important part.” He picked it up from
the floor. A thick chain was attached to it. “Because I’m not sure whether the
cuffs will stay on my legs when I change.”

“Are those prongs?”

“Yes. The guy at the store recommended the collar for unruly
pit bulls and the like. The prongs should act as a deterrent, so hopefully I
won’t tug at the collar until it breaks.”

“You’re really going to put that on and sit in the closet?”

He cupped her chin and made her look into his eyes. “Yes I
am, and you’re going to listen to my instructions so you don’t get hurt.”

“I’m listening.” But her voice trumpeted her disbelief. “If
you secretly wanted to be a sub, you could’ve just told me. I probably wouldn’t
mind paddling your ass for a while.”

Jake wanted to smile, lighten the mood, pretend this was all
about sex, but she needed to know he was dead serious, even if she didn’t think
anything would happen that night. The moon was already pulling on him. It didn’t
matter how many steel and glass buildings it hid behind as it rose or how far
into outer space it was, he felt it just the same. At first it was a sense of
being watched, just a tickle on the back of his neck. Then his skin started to
itch, just mildly, which was what it was doing now. But soon his skin would
start to burn and swell, and his muscles would begin to feel as though he’d
overstretched them, like a torn hamstring or tendon. His bones would get all
creaky and then they would start to throb. He hadn’t known bones could feel
like that, but they did. Saron had filmed him once so that he could see what
actually happened to him during a change. It looked like a liquid smooth
special effect on the screen, not at all reflecting the physiological torture he
was actually going through.