a lot of hidden caves and paths and wild animals, I don’t want anyone to get lost or hurt, so you have to do exactly what I say every time, okay?” he finished as he turned to lead the way.
“Hey, hold up,” someone called, laughing breathlessly as a group of three people ran up to them. “Tom lost his shoe, so we got held up.”
Derek turned, along with everyone else. Two women and a little boy were approaching the group. The woman who had spoken was clad in tee-shirt and jeans with a pair of glasses shading her eyes. Despite her casual appearance, he could tell she was extremely wealthy. She had that aura of quiet wealth about her, and she walked with the confident gait of the average wealthy American.
Beside her, another woman tagged along with her son in tow. The second woman was wearing an unbuttoned shirt over a tank top and jeans with scuffed sneakers. She had a fresh, unspoiled face, and even from a distance, and devoid of makeup, he could tell she was a total knockout. As she walked forward, her chin-length red hair fluttered in the slight wind again and her scent blew his way, hitting him in the solar plexus like a blow.
Derek tensed, every fiber of his being going on high alert as he inhaled the second woman’s scent. That was the exact scent he had picked up earlier; it was unlike anything he had ever perceived in his entire life. It was calming and drugging at the same time; it made him want to bury his nose in her skin and hair for the rest of his life; it stoked a hunger deep in his soul, and at the same time, satisfied him. Everything inside of him roared with need. That wild, dangerous side of him reared its head; snapping to be free. His eyes glinted in warning, his teeth started to shift, and with great effort, he clenched his fists to control himself.
Through narrowed eyes, he observed that she was a deliciously stacked woman, with curves in all the right places. She was about five-eight, with slim, delicate shoulders that made a man want to protect her, smooth flawless skin like a baby, high arched brows, high cheekbones that defined her slim face and aquamarine eyes that were so startling in their intensity that even from several feet away he was struck. And yet, there was a sad quality in her eyes; barely there but he saw it. Her breasts were high and firm beneath her tank top and her tiny waist gave room to curvy hips encased in jeans so tight she seemed to have been poured into them. She was incredibly hot and … rather dangerous, he thought— she had to be, because why else would she affect him like this?
Everything in him was raring, straining to be free.
The women came closer, heedless of his inner turmoil, and Derek realized, for the first time in his life, that if he didn’t beat a hasty retreat, he could shift form right there in front of everyone.
Derek took a few hasty steps back for self-preservation; the little group kept coming closer. He saw Murphy, his co-guide, shoot him a confused look.
“I’m gonna be sick,” he got out desperately. Before anyone could so much as comment, he lunged for the back of the resort and disappeared from view.
He ran off into the dense forest behind the resort and grabbed the first strong oak he came to. He shook it hard, shaking it until it began to uproot from the ground. His entire skin was on fire as the familiar heat spread through him.
What was it about that woman that had made him lose all control? At thirty, he had mastered himself enough that he never once shifted form, unless he absolutely wanted to or unless it was a full moon. Today, though, one whiff of a woman’s scent and he had lost all control and had been about to reveal his secret.
Okay, not just any woman; this woman!
What was wrong with him? Who was she?
He gave the tree one last vigorous shake as he felt his wild side begin to recede some more. I am under control now, he thought as he slowly let go of the tree.
He’d wanted to have her in his arms with a desperation that defied all logic. He’d wanted to revel in her unique scent and bite her cheeks and lick every part of her in the most sensuous way possible — and he didn’t even know her name! What the hell was wrong with him?
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