Never Cry Wolf (Night Watch #4)(2)
Author: Cynthia Eden

He moved in one quick lunge. Lucas grabbed the detective, lifted the jerk by his too-thick throat, and slammed him against the bars.

The guard stepped forward.

Lucas’s head snapped to the right. “Don’t even think about it.” Guttural. Because really, a guy’s patience could only last so long.

The guard’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Good.” He glanced back at the detective. “Bruce, I think you and I need to clear the air.” So others were there watching—big deal. He wouldn’t play subtle. “You’ve got a hard-on for me. You been dodging my feet for the last two months.” He let the beast show in his eyes. Lucas knew the glow of the wolf would burn from his blue stare. “You stay out of my way from now on or you’ll find out just what I do to bastards who piss me off.”

The detective’s skin bleached. “You—you can’t threaten a cop—”

He let his claws dig into Bruce’s flapping flesh. “I just did.”

“What are you?” A whisper.

His smile faded. “Someone”—something—“you don’t want to have as an enemy.” His fingers loosened. The detective slid from his grip. Dropped to the floor. Probably pissed himself.

Lucas glared down at the man. He let Bruce see the intent in his eyes. Then he caught the woman’s hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Sarah King let the tall, dark wolf shifter drag her down the twisting hallways of the police station. Her heart slammed into her chest with every step and her palms slickened with sweat. And her knees—it was a good thing he was doing all the dragging, because they were shaking so hard she might not have been able to walk so well on her own.

Lucas Simone. The badass of the LA wolf pack.

She wondered if the detective knew just how close he’d come to serious injury.

You didn’t mess with a wolf. Shifters, in general, were considered wild because of the beasts they carried inside. Unpredictable. Five times stronger than humans. Senses—hearing, sight—more like an animal’s than a man’s.

Because they were more animal than man.

Shifters were part of the Other. Humans didn’t know it, but they were living in a nightmare. A world inhabited by vampires, demons, djinn—every creature imaginable and some that folks didn’t want to imagine.

The wolf shifters were said to be the worst. Too powerful. And quite often . . . insane. A not-so-nice little side perk of their genetics.

Oh, yeah, the detective had come close to—

Lucas shoved open the glass door at the entrance of the station. Nobody made the mistake of getting in his way.

Evening sunlight hit her hard. Sarah blinked, trying to adjust her eyes, but Lucas didn’t pause. The wolf just kept dragging her. Down the stone steps. Across the street, into the park that was overgrown with weeds, then back into the stretching shadows of the trees.

Uh, oh. Time to stop. Sarah wrenched her hand free.

The shifter turned on her with narrowed blue eyes.

All the moisture in her mouth dried up in an instant.

Lucas Simone was dangerous. One glance at his stony expression could tell any fool that.

The guy was big, towering well over six feet, muscled, with wide shoulders. Freaking linebacker shoulders.

No way was he handsome. His face was all angles. His cheekbones were too sharp. His jaw too square, too hard. His lips were too thin, a little too cruel.

And his eyes were too hard, that fierce gaze saw too much.

Dangerous. Wild.

No, Lucas Simone definitely wouldn’t classify as handsome, but Sarah really wasn’t the type to be swayed by a pretty face.

She was much more the I-need-a-freaking-badass-to-save-my-ass right-now type.

“I should explain . . .” She began, clearing her throat.

“Yeah, you should.” An order.

Her own eyes narrowed. “Uh, I think it’s important to note that I saved your hide back there.” Very, very important to note. In fact, she was wagering on the old wolf pack code to help her out. The I-Scratch-Your-Back, You-Protect-Mine code.

He grunted. “I didn’t need saving, babe.”

“Yes, you did.” The wolf would still be caged if it hadn’t been for her—and the folks she’d bribed. Using the last of my cash.

She needed shelter. Her growling stomach reminded her that she also needed food.

And she desperately needed some serious muscle.

Her gaze dropped down to his chest.

Muscle, check.

“We haven’t had sex, lover.” He drew the last out, more like a growl instead of a word.

Sarah couldn’t help it, she flushed. She felt her face heat and knew she had to be beet red. The curse of her fair skin. She always blushed too fast. “You were in jail. They were pinning a murder rap on you.” Facts that really shouldn’t have to be pointed out to the ungrateful wolf. Come on. Where was her thank you?

“I remember every woman I’ve had sex with,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. His eyes, hooded, swept over her, making her cheeks burn all the more. She’d dressed, deliberately chosen the sexy attire, before going down to the station. Her red blouse plunged to reveal the swell of her br**sts. The short, black skirt revealed a long expanse of leg. Her sandals were small, curved, and designed more to be sexy than serviceable.

He whistled slowly. “I don’t remember you.”

Right, and she didn’t buy for a minute that the guy remembered every woman he’d—

“Some women like to take things slow. They like to kiss, they like to stroke. Others like to strip, to f**k, as fast as possible.” A pause as his eyes rose back to hers. “They like it rough because they like the rush of being with a monster.”

She swallowed and took a quick step back, unable to help herself because Lucas looked very, very threatening.

“Are you one of those women?” He moved forward, closing that distance. His hand lifted and traced her cheek. “Do you like the thrill of walking on the wild side?”

Her heart was racing. Her knees were knocking again—well, okay, they’d never stopped. She licked her lips and managed, “No.”

His nostrils flared, and the grin that curved his lips was grim. “Liar.”

Oh, hell. Shifter senses. Some said their senses were acute enough to catch a lie. Not to actually smell a lie, but to hear the jerk of an increased heartbeat or to scent the sweat that broke through the skin at a lie.

“You’re turned on right now,” he told her, voice so rough that she almost shivered, “just like you were when we kissed outside that damn cage.”