Otherworldly Bad Boys: Three Complete Novels Read online

  “No, I don’t. I wish I never thought of you at all.” But she didn’t sound very convincing, and she knew it. Her voice was drenched in pleasure, and he was playing her like a violin, lightly stroking her between her legs, pinching and toying with her breasts. It felt wonderful. She wasn’t struggling against him anymore. If anything, she was straining for more of his fingers.

  His hand moved out of her pants.

  She moaned in disappointment.

  He deftly and quickly unbuttoned them.

  “Stop,” she said.

  “But that’s not what you want,” he said, his voice soft and deep. He peeled the fabric over her hips.

  “I want...”

  His fingers were back on her clit, making sweet, slippery circles.

  “What do you want?” he asked. “Do you want me, beautiful?”

  Oh, God, right then, she did. “Yes,” she murmured. “Yes, please.”

  His hands were suddenly on her bare hips, pulling her tight against his body. She felt him against her, hard and demanding. Oh Jesus Christ, he was going to...

  “Tell me again,” he said. He was pushing against her, rigid, persistent. Just a few more inches, and he’d be inside.

  She tried to push back, to take him into her. She wanted it now. The nearness of it was driving her mad. But he was holding her hips, and she couldn’t move.

  His breath was labored. “Hold on. Tell me again.”

  “I want you,” she said. ‘Please Cole.”

  He groaned, his fingers digging into her skin.

  And then he let go of her.

  She didn’t move for several seconds. She was confused. Why had he stopped?

  Then, the haze of lust fell back a little, and she realized she was in a cell with her pants around her ankles. Dear God, how had she ended up here? Without looking at Cole, she reached down to pull them up and cover herself.

  “Don’t,” he said.

  He was still close. Just behind her. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them behind her back.

  She peered up into his dark eyes. “Why?” she whispered. Why had he started to seduce her and then stopped? Why was he forcing her to stay half-naked, embarrassing her even further?

  “You want me,” he said. “You know it’s true. I know it’s true. And no matter what, you are going to want me.”

  She shook her head. “I can stop.”

  “No,” he said. “Dana...” He let go of her wrists. His fingers snaked between her legs again.

  She pushed him away. “Fuck you.” She pulled her pants up.

  “I want you too,” he said.

  “Right,” she said. “Which is why we’re not actually screwing right now.” Not that she wasn’t grateful, actually. She didn’t want that. No part of her wanted that. Sex in a cell with a prisoner? It was beneath her.

  “Not in here,” he said, echoing her thoughts.

  “Goddamn you for doing that!”

  “What?”

  “For knowing what I’m thinking and saying it out loud.”

  He looked surprised. “I do that to you too?”

  She took a deep breath. Why was she here? “I need to ask you questions.”

  “Dana, you and I are connected,” he said. “We belong together, and not in here. You killed tonight. You know what it’s like. You know how sweet it is. How can you think that anything that feels that good, that right, that connected to the source of life, can possibly be wrong?”

  She trembled. “No.”

  “It’s what we’re made for,” he said. “We are supposed to kill.”

  “No.”

  “You felt it. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel it.”

  “The wolf felt it,” she said.

  “You are the wolf. The wolf is you,” he said. “Please, Dana. You can’t deny this. You can’t deny that you and I are meant to be free together, that we’re meant to—”

  “No,” she said. She backed up into the wall, pressed her palms into it. “That’s what you want, Cole? You want me and you to be some kind of Mickey and Mallory werewolf killing couple?”

  He reached for her hand. “Get me out, Dana.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “You can. You figured out how to sneak down here and see me,” he said. “You work for the SF. You can do it. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

  “No,” she said. But she was still gripping his hand, wasn’t she? She looked down at their entwined fingers.

  He gathered her into his arms. He brushed hair away from her cheek. “Don’t you want to be with me?”

  She gazed into his dark eyes. Maybe she did. But... “I can’t.”

  He kissed her. “You can.”

  “No. I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

  He buried his face in her shoulder. “Dana, please. For us.”

  “There is no us.”

  “That’s not true.” He lifted his head, searched her eyes with his own. “Can you think of anyone that has a stronger bond than the two of us? It kept me from killing you. It kept you coming to see me. You hate what I am, but you still want me. This is something stronger than morality, stronger than our own desires. This is bigger than us. And you have to recognize it.”

  She let her fingertips brush his cheek. “Maybe so. But... I won’t let you out, Cole. I can’t ever do that.”

  He closed his eyes. He kissed her forehead. “You’re not ready yet. I can wait.”

  “I’ll never—”

  “Shh.” He tightened the circle of his arms, pulling her close.

  She loved the way it felt to have his arms around her. They had never done this. She had never felt him hold her. It was divine. She sighed. “You sent that rogue to me so that I could kill her? Just so I would see what it was like to kill?”

  “Well, she might have thought she was going to win,” Cole said. “But yes.”

  “That’s the most twisted, evil thing I ever heard.”

  “And I thought I’d get points for not killing the reporter,” he said. “You are very difficult to please, Dana Gray.”

  “How did you do it? How did you make her do that for you? Are you her alpha?”

  He laughed. “Oh, you are getting there, aren’t you, beautiful?” He kissed her temple. “But you don’t quite understand the way an alpha bond works, or you wouldn’t have asked that.”

  “Are you my alpha?”

  He grinned at her. “Don’t be ridiculous, Dana. I couldn’t get you to submit. Why do you think I wanted to kill you?”

  What?

  And then Ursula King burst into Cole’s cell, and found her that way—clinging to the man who had tried to kill her and staring adoringly into his eyes.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “Randall’s into her,” said Avery, pacing in front of Ursula’s desk. “We decided she should use that to try to get information.”

  Dana stared at Avery in surprise. What was he saying? Was he covering for her? He didn’t need to do that.

  Ursula was leaning against the desk, her arms crossed. “You decided that you would get physically close to a serial killer so that you could get information about the case.”

  “Yes,” said Avery. “He obviously has a thing for her, so we thought we would lead him on.”

  Ursula looked directly at Dana. “This is the man who tortured you and nearly tried to kill you. How could you have the stomach for something like that?”

  Dana chewed on her lip. She couldn’t let Avery share the blame for her screw up. She wasn’t going to lie about what happened. She’d face the music herself. “Um... listen, King, that’s not really what—”

  “I might have pushed her,” said Avery.

  “What?” Ursula turned to him, shocked.

  “That’s not true,” said Dana. “The truth is that it was all my idea. I did it without any input from Brooks. I—”

  “That’s not what happened at all,” said Avery.

  Ursula shook her head. “What kind of game are you two playing here?�
��

  Avery shot Dana a meaningful glance. Dana knew it meant that she should keep her mouth shut. She didn’t want to lie to Ursula, but she also wasn’t sure how to explain everything. She searched for the right words.

  “You’re both lying to me,” said Ursula. “One of you is protecting the other. Which one is it?”

  “It’s Brooks,” said Dana. “He’s trying to take the fall for me.”

  “It’s Gray,” said Avery. “She keeps blaming herself.”

  Ursula drew a hand over her face. “Of course you’re not going to tell me.” She sighed. “You tried to get information from Cole Randall by embracing him like that?”

  “Well...” said Dana.

  “Yes,” said Avery.

  “And what else?” said Ursula. “What else did you let him do?”

  “What do you mean?” said Dana.

  Ursula spread her hands. “Did you kiss him?”

  Dana swallowed.

  “Of course not,” said Avery. “It was just a little innocent flirting.”

  “Because there’s no record of what happens down there. We don’t have cameras. He can claim anything he wants,” said Ursula. “Isn’t he scheduled to meet with the press for an interview soon? Your ex? What’s he going to say?”

  “My ex is the one that got bitten tonight,” said Dana.

  “He is?” said Ursula. “And then you ended up killing the wolf that attacked him. The two of you going to explain that, or are you going to lie to my face about it?”

  Dana felt ashamed. “I’m not trying to lie to you, King. It’s only that it’s hard to explain.”

  “It’s not,” said Avery. “Randall set the whole thing up.”

  “What?” Ursula crossed her arms over her chest again. “How could Randall set anything up? He’s locked up.”

  “That’s what we don’t know yet,” said Avery. “But Randall had motive to incapacitate Hollis Moore. He told Gray that he was going to be out of the picture, didn’t he?”

  That was actually true. “Yeah,” said Dana. God, Avery was spinning a tangled little web here, mixing the truth with lies. Would he get away with it?

  Dana watched Ursula, who looked confused but willing to listen. Avery just might. And if so, wouldn’t it be better to lie just a little bit? Maybe she should let it go.

  “Why?” said Ursula. “What did he have against Hollis?”

  “Jealousy,” said Avery. “He thought that he actually had a chance with Gray, and he wanted Hollis out of the picture.”

  Ursula still looked confused. “Maybe I buy that. But it doesn’t explain anything else. Why were you at Randall’s house? Why did the rogue wolf go there? Why did you kill her?”

  Dana squared her shoulders. She could actually tell the truth about this. “Cole’s been trying to convince me to help him escape. He thought that if I experienced a kill in wolf form that I would realize that killing was natural and beautiful, and that I would be on his side. So he convinced me to be at his house at midnight and sent that wolf to attack me. I had to kill her in self-defense.”

  Ursula took a moment to digest this. “He thought that killing would make you agree with him?”

  Dana nodded. “Yeah.”

  “And he sent a wolf for you to kill?”

  “That’s right.”

  “How?” said Ursula. “How could he send a wolf?”

  “We don’t know that yet,” said Dana. “But he did admit to being the rogue’s alpha. And we have some evidence that Tom Hathaway, the wolf he was corresponding with, was killed by his father because Cole formed an alpha bond with Tom, supplanting the boy’s father.”

  Ursula closed her eyes. “Alphas.”

  “I know how it sounds, but in this case—” Dana began.

  “There are no alpha wolves,” said Ursula.

  “The evidence really isn’t backing that up,” said Avery. “Randall has some kind of pull over these rogues, and we don’t know what that is yet. It could be an alpha bond.”

  Ursula opened her eyes. “You’ve both gone crazy.”

  “Listen, King, let us keep digging,” said Avery. “We’ll prove it.”

  She shook her head. “This is not how this tracker office conducts investigations. It’s tawdry and cheap. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention, I specifically ordered you, Gray, to stay away from Randall, did I not?”

  “Yes.” Dana looked at the floor.

  “You’ve made a mess of everything. You’ve gotten a journalist bitten, gotten another wolf killed, and allowed Cole Randall to manipulate you.”

  Avery took a deep breath. “We’re sorry, but—”

  “No,” said Ursula. “That’s not going to cut it. You’re both suspended for two weeks. Effective immediately.”

  Suspended? Avery too? “No, King, suspend me, but not Brooks. He didn’t do anything. I was the one—”

  “Spare me,” said Ursula. “I have to suspend both of you, because you’re attached at the hip. And you’re in this together. Hand over your access badges.”

  * * *

  “You didn’t have to do that,” said Dana as she and Avery got off the elevator on the floor where their apartments were located.

  “I meant what I said,” said Avery. “We’re in this together. You and me. I’ve got your back.”

  “I don’t deserve that,” said Dana.

  “Oh, believe me, I know.” He strode down the hallway. “My apartment. Now. We’ve got things to talk about.”

  Dana hung her head, feeling ashamed. She had no choice but to follow him. Once inside, the two sat down on Avery’s couch.

  “So, listen,” he said, “you owe me now.”

  “I do,” she said. “I so do. Jesus, Brooks, you should never have done that. You should have turned me in to King.”

  “We’re partners,” he said. “And the thing is, even though you’re acting crazy, it’s not your fault, exactly. You’ve gone a little crazy over this Randall thing. We’re going to fix it somehow, and the only way we can do that is to figure out what he’s up to.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “There are rules now, though,” he said. “You don’t see Randall alone. Ever again. You want to see him, I’m coming with you.”

  “Neither of us can go, can we? King took our badges.”

  “You really think we can let this Randall situation sit for two weeks while we’re suspended? He’s killing people. From a cell, he’s killing people. We have to stop him. And I don’t care whether we’re technically suspended or not.”

  Dana chewed on her lip. “You have some way to get down there?”

  “Not yet, but if we need to see him, I’ll figure out a way. And you will not see him without me. Got it?”

  She shrank into the couch.

  “Gray, answer me.”

  She couldn’t. She saw the sense in what he was saying. She understood it. But she didn’t want to make a promise like that. She wasn’t sure that she could keep it.

  Avery sighed. “You’re not saying anything.”

  She wouldn’t look at him.

  He got off the couch. “It’s times like this that I wish I drank alcohol.” He headed into his kitchen, which was set up just like hers, with a bar between it and the living room. “Want a soda?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  He came back with two cans. He handed one to her. He opened his own, but he didn’t sit down. He stared down at her instead. “I really am crazy to cover for you with King.”

  She nodded. “You should take it back. Go tell her what really happened.”

  “No,” he said. “It makes us both look bad now. But I’m not working with you on this unless you can promise you’ll stay away from him.”

  “I can’t promise anything when it comes to him.” She toyed with the tab on the soda can. “Something about him makes me act crazy.”

  “Fine,” said Avery. “Then I’ll just have to watch you. You will not leave my side until we figure this out.”

 
; She made a face at him. “Not leave your side?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll keep you away from him.”

  “Brooks, I don’t think—”

  “No arguing about it,” he said. “It’s not an offer. It’s an order. My ass is in a sling here too, and I’m not going to let you mess everything up.”

  Well, she guessed that was true.

  He sat down on the couch. “So. He’s your alpha.”

  “He said he wasn’t,” she said. “He said he couldn’t make me submit, and that’s why he tried to kill me.”

  Avery raised his eyebrows.

  “It’s like something else he said,” said Dana. “He told me once that he wasn’t killing the wolves that he killed out of retaliation, he was killing them because they weren’t any use to him.”

  “How’s that connected?”

  “He killed wolves that weren’t useful,” she said. “Wolves that wouldn’t submit.” She leaned forward. “I think he was trying to create a pack. He tried to alpha the rogues. If he wasn’t successful, he killed them.”

  “So that would mean that he tried to alpha you and failed,” said Avery.

  “According to him, yes.”

  “So, then why are you drawn to him?”

  She was quiet. “I don’t know.”

  “There’s got to be a way to find out if you’re a beta wolf to Cole Randall,” said Avery. “We need to be able to prove whether you are or aren’t.”

  “And whether the rogues are or aren’t,” said Dana. “If we could prove he forced them to shift, then they wouldn’t be responsible for their actions. We shouldn’t be punishing them.”

  “But we have to keep them here if Randall can make them shift any time he wants,” said Avery.

  Dana set down her drink. “We need to prove that Cole’s an alpha. We need to find a way to break the bond between alphas and betas. And we need to find all the other betas that Cole created and break their bonds.”

  Avery sipped at his soda. “Oh, is that all?”

  She smiled. “And do all of that while we’re suspended and while you’re trying to keep me away from Cole.”

  “Well, let’s start with the writings of Fredrich Sullivan, I guess. Maybe he’s got the answers.”