Page 20 of Bewitched by the Werewolf (The Bewitching Hour #5)

“Yes, you did. Stop lying. You stole it off my belt when you ‘accidentally’ bumped into me the other day.” She looks at me like I’m speaking ancient Greek. Nice try sweetheart. “Small drawstring bag ringing any bells?”

“N—”

“Yes, it is. Give it back and I won’t punish you.”

Her expression immediately shifts and the look she gives me tells me she might just like a good punishing. Right now, in the state I’m in, I would gladly give it to her. She saunters forward, pressing herself closer to me looming in her doorway.

“And what kind of punishment would that be?”

“Test me and find out, Red.”

She hum’s and taps a finger to her lips. Lips that unfortunately aren’t red anymore but are still begging me to taste and explore them. I growl as I watch her nibble on the tip of her finger. She’s doing this on purpose.

“Careful little Red. I’m on a very short leash and you aren’t ready for all of me.”

Tess sucks in a slow breath and pulls her finger from her mouth. Her apple scent shifts from cool and crisp to warm and spicy, like hot cider. She likes the thought of unleashing me. I can practically taste her arousal and my own spikes, the knot at the base of my cock swelling, again.

Somehow, we’ve positioned ourselves within inches of each other. I’m practically inside her trailer already. She notices my proximity and is the first to right herself, pulling straight and tightening her hands around her towel.

“Give me a minute to put something on and I’ll get you your…property.”

When she goes inside and shuts the door behind her I don’t move. I can’t. My body is strung so tight I’m afraid if I moved it would be to break down her door and find out what she’s hiding under that towel.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I get one whiff of an attractive female, and all of sudden I’m a feral animal unable to control myself?

Get yourself together, she’s just a female, a human female.

But she isn’t just a female. Now that I’ve caught her scent, I know she’s more.

Still a human, but no human female has ever smelled this good, this all-encompassing.

I want her in a primal way. I can feel it in my bones, and my boner.

I adjust my raging erection to be less obvious in my jeans.

Hoping my utility belt will obscure the bulge.

Moments later Tess reappears at the door wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans, hair still wet and feet bare. The towel was tantalizing, but I like her like this as well. Disheveled and casual. Relaxed. Unarmed.

“Here,” she says, handing me the small bag.

I take it and roll it in my hand checking to see if there’s any missing. It doesn’t feel lighter, so I tuck it back away in my satchel where it belongs.

“Why exactly do you carry around a bag of sand?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest and propping up her tits in a way I swear she’s doing to torment me.

“None of your business. Now how about you tell me why you’re in town. No lying.” I hold up a finger and cut off her excuse before she can say it. “You gave me your full name remember? Don’t you think I looked you up?”

I’m trying to give her one last chance to admit it herself before I out her. Tess bites on her lip and scrunches her nose glaring at me. She’s fidgety and I think I’ve finally cornered her.

“Fine,” she huffs throwing her hands in the air. “I’m searching for werewolves. There are you happy now?”

“Yes. You finally told the truth.”

“Why do you care so much anyways?” she demands. “Is werewolf hunting illegal?” she taunts.

“Not illegal, but also there are no werewolves here. We’re just a normal, quiet , small town and I don’t take kindly to outsiders coming in and poking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“How do you know there are no werewolves? I’m pretty sure I spotted one last night.” She says smugly.

I know for a fact she spotted one last night and nailed me with her crossbow. But I don’t admit any of that. Even with her demandingly alluring scent, she still needs to leave town.

“Considering I’ve lived her my entire life and never once have I seen or heard of a werewolf strolling around the woods, I’m not inclined to believe you.”

She smirks at me and leans a shoulder against the door frame, once again coming in so close I can taste her scent.

Sharp and tangy. Whatever the fuck she did to mask her scent, I hope like hell she does it again, so I don’t have to endure this dick throbbing agony.

Then again, I also never want to smell anything else but her ever again.

“Well, I guess I’m going to have to prove you wrong so you can eat your words.”

I’ll gladly eat you instead. I nearly say out loud. Fuck this female is going to be far more trouble than I first anticipated.

Tess flicks at the collar of my shirt and I have to grip the trailer harder with my hand still holding on, to stabilize my unhinged reaction.

“And why exactly do you think there are werewolves in Snowberry?”

Dottie told me Tess had said she was told about Snowberry through a friend, someone who had been here before. I think that was partially true, because how else could she have found us and just so happen to be looking for werewolves in a town filled with non-humans and shifters.

“A friend told me about it.”

“Liar.”

“Okay fine, an anonymous source sent me the coordinates and told me I would find what I was looking for here. I had no idea it was an entire town. All I knew was someone thought it worth sending me this location and when I realized it was in the middle of the forest, I got curious.” Tess huffs out an exasperated breath at the end of her rant, frowning up at me, displeased with having been bested.

“An anonymous source? Really?”

“Yes. I have no idea who the person was, they messaged me on my website and that was it.”

“Huh.”

Tess scowls at me and I scowl right back down at her. A truly anonymous source could mean anybody, even a non-human. Perhaps one of the grey skin, pointy eared variety. Considering no one else would benefit from such a scheme.

“That’s it, that’s all you have to say is, huh? You’re not going to tell me I’m crazy and that werewolves don’t exist and call a paddy wagon to take me away?”

“Why would I do that? How would I know if they don’t exist? All I do know is they aren’t here.”

Tess’s expression softens and she pushes away from leaning on the wall, her hands dropping to her side.

She wasn’t expecting me to say that. I can only imagine how many times someone has told her she was crazy, when they’re the crazy ones.

Tess probably knows more about shifters than most humans, and yet she’s the one who’s sent away and ostracized.

Once again, the urge to punch anyone who called her crazy in the face, takes me by surprise.

“Well, I think they are. And I’m going to finally prove it, without question.

Then no one will call me crazy.” She mumbles the last part, and it makes me want to reach out and sooth the tension in her jaw and perfect lips.

Tess clears her throat and shakes off her unease. “Anyway, is that all you needed?”

I watch her for another long moment, studying her face in a way I haven’t been able to before. This close, without her scowling or smirking at me, I can finally see the apprehension and grim determination lying beneath.

“For now.” I press back from her trailer, giving her the space we both desperately need.

“See ya around, Ryder. ”

I love the way she purrs my name. I really shouldn’t, but apparently, I’m not in control of my body or mind right now.

“Yes, you will. A lot. And whatever you did to smell so good,” I say before she can shut the door in my face, again. “I like it. You smell much better now than you did before.”

She pauses and stares at me curiously. Probably completely lost as to why I’m talking about how she smells. I don’t care. I just want to be able to smell her again. She shuts the door, and I have to take a moment to right myself before I’m able to trudge back to my truck.