“YOU OKAY WITH DOING THIS?” I ask as Jasmine seats herself in front of the laptop and cracks her knuckles. She told me she thought of a way to hack the LIL that would be untraceable.
“Hacking our employer? We’re not going to hurt anything. If there’s a cover-up here, I wanna know.”Her lower lip juts out a little. My brave, beautiful girl.Except she’s not mine. I can’t have her, can’t keep her. I clear my throat. “All right. Show me your father’s file.”“Your wish is my command.” She quirks a pert little grin. “You really like giving orders, don’t you?”
“You have no idea,” I murmur, distracted by her fingers dancing over the keyboard, slender and graceful. If I told her to turn around and touch me instead, they’d feel so…
“Tom?”I search my memory for the echo of what she just said. “No, I haven&rsquo“THIS IS JUST like when we were teenagers.” I grin up at Bryce, who scowls because I moved. She has a pair of scissors in one hand and a lock of my hair in the other, and she’s thinning the edges like a professional hairstylist.I’ve bleached my hair to a respectable housewife blond, and now, Bryce’s giving me a shoulder-length layered ‘do. “Remember when you shaved the sideof my head and dyed the bangs purple?”Bryce laughs. “We were so sure mom would freak out, but she didn’t say a word.”“Yeah, I think she actually got the last laugh on that one.”We both sober, grief from our mother’s death still present after two years. My sister sifts her fingers through my hair. “This is pretty extreme.” “You don’t think it looks good?”“No... it’s just hard to think of my baby sister dyeing her hair and going undercover.&rdqu
GODDAMN.It nearly killed me to tell Jasmine she had to cut and dye her hair. Espelillly since I haven’t fulfilled my fantasy yet of riding her from behind with a fistful of that dark auburn thickness to hang onto.But she looks absolutely angelic as a blonde. The deep red played up her personality—she rocked with the large-framed glasses and the dark lipstick. Now she looks like the girl next door. And damn if I don’t want to tie her to the bed and fuck her until she weeps for mercy.I bang around in the kitchen, trying to satisfy my lust with food. I can’t seem to eat enough.After a full spaghetti dinner, I’m still hungry for red meat. I’ve already eaten the cans of chili in the cupboards. I pull out a container of spaghetti sauce and eat it straight out of the jar. And let me tell you—it has pathetically few chunks of meat for what’s advertised.I can’t seem to eat down the heat though. Ever
I GRIP the gun with shaking fingers. The LIL couldn’t send a wolf to get me. This isn’t a sci-fi film. It was just some enormous, rabid wolf that must’ve smelled food inside and wanted in.Still, my heart won’t stop thumping against my ribs, the sound of the gunfire and the wolf’s yelp echoing in my ears.And Tom’s still out there.But he’d know what to do. He’s that kind of guy. He’ll have a weapon onhim, or he’ll make one out of a branch or rock. He’s a trained assassin, for God’s sake. I don’t need to worry about him.As if I could stop though.Bryce finally gets Johnson to sleep, and I’m starting to freak out about Tom’s long absence and the giant rabid wolf. I pick up the gun.“Maybe I should go out there.”“Are you crazy?” Bryce snaps. “That’s how every movie character gets killed.”“What i
JASMINE’S BURNER phone rings on our way down the mountain. She looks at the screen, then meets my inquiring gaze. “Washington, D.C. It might be Senator Flack.”“Answer it.”Her hands tremble a bit as she slides the phone on. “Agent Gray speaking.” “Jasmine, hi. This is Senator Flack returning your call.” With my new andimproved hearing, there’s no conversation I can’t eavesdrop on—including Jasmine and her sister’s yesterday about me. The senator sounds warm and friendly, almost grandfatherly.“Senator, thank you for calling me back. I know you were director of the LIL when my father died, and I remember you coming to the funeral.”“Yes, that’s true. Your father was a friend of mine, Jasmine. He was employed as a covert agent under me.”“Can you tell me what his mission was when he died?”Senator Flack goes quiet for a mo
TOM DUNE IS A MADMAN. That’s all I can conclude. Who breaks into the LIL? Holy shit, I’m about to break into the freaking LIL!When we realized Agent Tentrite wiped my dad’s file, I was ready to call the trail a dead end.“Not so fast,” Tom said. “There are two reasons Tentrite would meddle. The first is if she was involved in your dad’s career.”“That wouldn’t make sense, she wasn’t around at the time of his service.” “So, it’s the second reason. Someone ordered her to do it.” “Who?”“That’s what we have to find out.” A search through Tentrite’s file didn’t reveal any connection to my dad at all.“That’s the first reason ruled out completely,” Tom muttered. “Now we work on the second.”Which brought us to the present moment.“So, what are we going to do?” I ask, tryi
WE’RE ALMOST to the elevator when I realize I didn’t completely shut the Director’s door. The elevator is taking its sweet time coming up for us. It’s almost at our floor when the security guard sees the Director’s door, then glances back at us. He hesitates as if questioning his instincts. Two janitors, he’s never seen before, on a secure floor, and we only cleaned one office before leaving. He’s putting the pieces together. I see the moment we’re made.“Hey,” the guy turns, drawing his gun at the same time. “Stop right there.” Wide-eyed, Jasmine raises her hands.“Something wrong, man?” I ask, feigning surprise. He wouldn’t have a gun on us if he didn’t suspect something.“Stay there,” he orders. “I’m going to check something.” Gun still trained onus, he pulls out a walkie-talkie. I can’t let him call this in.I
I PULL Tom’s clothes off the second we get in the motel room. His growl is pure animal. He yanks my shirt off, pulls down the straps of my bra, and tosses the contents of my father’s file onto the floor. As much as I want to read it, my blood is humming with need. Here. Safe. Tom.Judging by the hard cock poking me the stomach, Tom feels the same way. My lips lock onto his as he walks me backward toward the bed, a low rumble coming from his chest the whole time.I work the button on his pants while he unbuttons his shirt and shucks it.“Clothes off,” he orders as if I’m not working on it. “I need you naked.Now.” I love the urgent command of his tone.In a flash, I’m stripped and on my back, legs spread wide. Tom drops to his knees on the floor and pulls my wet pussy against his mouth.“Do you need me to kiss you here, Jasmine?”I weave my fingers into his hair. “Yes. God, ye
OH, Christ. Fuck, fuck, fuck.I stumble back off the bed and find my way to the bathroom. Something happened when I orgasmed. It was like I was about to shift.Only different. My canines lengthened, and a sweet taste came into mymouth. My vision is also domed and sharpened like the monster’s.And a terrible desire came over me.I wanted to sink my teeth into Jasmine’s flesh.I throw the condom in the trash and splash water over my face. The teeth still appear long although they’re starting to recede. My irises glimmer a pale blue. Jasmine’s told me that happened before when we had sex.What the fuck?Does a werewolf try to turn his mate? Like a bite at full moon makes her a werewolf too? Or do I actually want to kill her? Is the instinct to hunt and to fuck so close, the animal can’t tell the difference?Of all things unholy and wrong.I am a monster.Jasmine’s not safe with