Foxy Lady

Chapter Three

Ty had been waiting forever to have Julia all to himself. But he knew better than to rush things. The woman wanted him. Hell, he could smell her musk right now and it was killing him. The fact she made no move to act on her lust gave him pause. He wanted Julia—now, to date, as a girlfriend. He refused to entertain thoughts of forever. Despite what his family and friends constantly urged him to do, he had no intention of finding a mate just yet.

He liked dating. Yes, he’d grown tired of it lately. That didn’t mean the urge wouldn’t hit him after this dry spell. He didn’t want Julia just for sex, though he wouldn’t say no to it. He liked female companionship. Unlike what the rumors in town hinted, Ty didn’t fuck every woman he dated. He’d been out with foxes, bears, a few raptors. But nothing serious. Only a select few made it to his bedroom, and those few hadn’t lasted beyond physical entertainments. When Ty eventually mated, he’d take a fox as wife. But not now. Now he wanted to play and have fun.

Except he had to keep reminding himself of that fact, because lately, he wanted something else.

Not a soul-deep connection. That was Gerald’s thing. The idiot lawyer wanted a woman to marry. Ty just wanted a girlfriend he wouldn’t tire of after three dates. They’d have dinner, spend time together, and yeah, indulge in red-hot sex.

Julia could give him all that and more. But she wouldn’t give it up easily. The chase fired his blood, and he grinned when she squirmed in his hold. He grew harder just thinking about outfoxing her.

“Let me go.” She huffed when he did and turned around, glaring at him.

Ty smiled and began unbuttoning his shirt. Most Shifters treated nudity with a casual regard. Ty didn’t much care if anyone saw him without clothes, and he admitted to liking the look of a female without encumbrance. But he normally didn’t get a hard-on around anyone but Julia.

Her gaze was glued to his fingers, he noted with satisfaction.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked.

“What does it look like?” He stripped off his shirt and moved to his belt buckle. With slow movements, he undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. The pull of his zipper sounded overly loud in the sudden silence.

Julia cleared her throat. His little fox looked wild around the eyes.

He toed off his boots, then bent down and took off his socks before straightening again. Hell of a thing with a hard-on the size of Montana.

With a grimace, he forced himself to behave and continued to watch Julia as he undressed. Her full lips opened on a gasp as he pushed his jeans and underwear to the floor.

“Why are you, ah…? That is, what do you…?”

Gratified by her rapid breathing, Ty stood there letting her look her fill. This is what you’ve been missing, honey. All this is yours. All you have to do is ask. He could feel how hard he pulsed, knew there had to be some precome there at his tip. The woman had a powerful hold on his sex drive, no doubt.

“Julia? You okay?” he teased, liking this side of her. At work she always seemed so put together. Her clothes just right, never a hair out of place. Classy, pristine. Right now she seemed anything but. Her jeans and large denim shirt were rumpled. Her hair was wild, framing her face with the untamed look it deserved. And her breathing definitely told him she was anything but calm.

“I’m fine.” She exhaled on a whoosh. “Just worried about my sister.” Her gaze continued to stray to his cock.

When she licked her lips again, it was all he could do not to start stroking himself, willing her to go down on him.

Instead, he waited for her to meet his gaze again. When she did, she turned scarlet.

He gave her a wicked grin. “I’m going to turn and check out the surrounding woods. Wait for me here, would you?”

“Ah, yeah. Sure.” She tried to shutter her gaze, but Ty knew she wanted him. He could smell her desire. He needed some space before he took advantage of her. God forbid he actually give her what she really wanted. She might not speak to him for a year.

“Oh and, Julia?”

“Yeah?”

“When I get back, we’ll take care of this.” He gripped himself, stroking a few times to entrance her. “And that sultry scent of yours, begging for some attention.”

Satisfied when she gaped in shock, he flowed into the body of his animal spirit, a silver fox, and trotted to the door.

“You’re a real pain in the ass, Ty. You give me a headache.” Julia swore under her breath and opened the back door a crack. He slipped through and laughed when she slammed it behind him. Outside, the world beckoned. But his heart raced more for the stubborn vixen inside than all the wonders nature had to offer.

Julia fanned herself, wondering if she had time to take care of her desire before Ty returned. She’d never been so aroused in her life. Ty had a body made for sex. So thick, so sexy. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the door. Just her luck she’d be in the middle of masturbating and he’d return, or worse yet, he’d be waiting, watching from some unknown place outside.

Women didn’t get super horny. Women didn’t need sex to complete them. She could almost hear her Aunt Lynn lecturing her on the woes of that three letter word: S-E-X. After all, her mother’s monstrous libido had paired her with a man not of the Silver Fox Clan. At least he’d been Ac-taw though.

Meghan had the right of it, in part. Silver foxes were snotty. The clan had a tendency to think in terms of bloodlines and genetic standards rather than love and affection, or so she’d been taught.

Her mother’s secret, disastrous marriage to her father reinforced the point that mating within the clan prevented many an unhappy relationship.

Julia forced herself to ignore remembrances of Ty’s washboard stomach, golden skin and gleaming silver gaze. The knowing bastard had all but pranced around her, holding that long shaft like an offering.

As tiny as Julia was, they’d probably have trouble fitting.

Her womb clenched.

“No way. No thoughts of sex. Bad things happen around Ty Roderick. Remember that.”

Despite drinking herself into a stupor a month ago—an odd occurrence at that—Julia clearly remembered how difficult it had been to overcome her fears of rejection and ask Ty to make love to her, only to have her fears realized.

“Liquid courage, my ass,” she mumbled. “More like liquid stupidity.”

Still, wanting Ty made a strange kind of sense, from a mating perspective. The sheriff of Cougar Falls, he had the respect, power and strength one looked for in a husband, if one was so inclined to marry. Meghan’s intended, Jason Williams, came from pure human stock. He had no ties to the Ac-taw, none to Cougar Falls, and a family that scared the crap out of Julia. She could all too easily imagine Ned mounting her sister’s head to the wall. Or better yet, stuffing her like the family dog and displaying her like a beloved pet.

She sank down on the couch and closed her eyes, wondering how to handle the mess her life had become.

The first time Julia had arrived in Nowhere, she’d found herself crushed in Ned’s smelly arms. He’d wanted to screw her from the get-go. Somehow, over the last three visits she’d made to Jason’s hometown, Ned’s desire had morphed into some crazy kind of matrimonial need. As if she’d consent to lay down with that man and have his babies.

Eww. He had hair all over him. In an effort to entice her, he’d stripped off his shirt to wrestle Itchy and Snitchy during one visit. The scent of an unwashed Ned, along with sex from one of the locals he’d bedded before coming home, had made her want to gag. Yeah, Julia had no doubt Ned knew less about fidelity than he did about courtship.

“No way Meghan actually thought Ned and I were a couple.” She snorted. Then again, Meghan was in an all-about-me phase. Like a damned teenager all over again.

The girl had smarts. She’d graduated summa cum laude, along with Jason, with a B.S. in Computer Science. Meghan had plans to start her own engineering software business, again like Jason. At least their chosen careers made the prospect of living in Nowhere undesirable. In Seattle, a technology haven, they’d do much better—better even than in Cougar Falls, honesty compelled her to admit.

Yet, in Cougar Falls, Meghan would be safe. The magical totem they celebrated protected the town from unwanted visitors. Those not of Ac-taw blood could literally not see the town. It wasn’t on any map, and only Shifters could find it, be they town citizens or not. If Jason accompanied Meghan home, he’d be aware of the place. But the minute he left the town’s confines, he’d never find it again without help.

Julia wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, but she’d heard the horror stories, had seen those who tried to live on the outside. Hunters, the pressure to pretend, and the inability to shift when needed without fear of exposure could truly harm her kind. Her new friend Sophie could attest to that. Living among normal people for most of her life, Sophie had nearly scared herself to death the first time she’d turned. Thankfully an Ac-taw had found her and taken her under his wing, eventually bringing her to Cougar Falls.

The gray wolves had a few Orders around the country. One in Texas, another in Wisconsin. Sure, Ac-taw could live outside of Cougar Falls, but the threat of publicity about their kind endangered not only individuals, but the entire Shifter species. Each and every Ac-taw in the States had gone through the clans in Cougar Falls at some point to establish their own territories. Which made Sophie’s case so unusual.

Julia sighed. She loved her sisters, but she missed home. She missed sitting in her comfortable office typing up files and answering calls for Gerald. Her boss and friend, Gerald made her feel good about herself. Though many of the silver foxes had expressed interest in mating, she didn’t want to tie herself down. Not yet. Eventually she’d have to find someone special. She even wanted to have children. But deep down she worried about how they’d turn out.

If anyone learned the truth… The silver foxes might very well kick her and her sisters out of the clan. Hell, they worried about social status more than the flighty raptors. If they decided to expel Julia and her sisters, they’d have to leave town. Julia couldn’t imagine life away from Cougar Falls, which was why she worried so for Meghan.

The only good thing about her younger sister marrying Jason and living in Seattle was that as long as she kept her shifting private, no one would care what she turned into.

Groaning at the reminder of that one major stress she’d been dealing with in her well-ordered world, Julia decided to sink into oblivion. Maybe a good sleep would clear her thoughts.

She prayed not to dream of Ty.

She did anyway.

Ty raced through the woods, feeling free for the first time in days. He found evidence of nearby foxes and wolves, but no one minded his pass through their territory, mostly because he refrained from marking anywhere but the few places he needed to find his way home.

On his way, he passed a group of kits protectively guarded by a pissed-off mother. Cute little red foxes. Their curious faces surprised him by stirring in him a need to look after his own family, which didn’t exist. Of course thoughts like those swayed his recollections to Julia.

Again he remembered her that night weeks ago, when she’d asked him so nicely, with alcohol on her breath, to make love to him. The first night off he’d had in forever, no trouble on the horizon. He’d planned to spend it with his friends drinking himself silly. Instead, he’d helped Julia get home and into bed, ignored her plea to fuck, and spent his night alone, masturbating to thoughts of how good she’d actually be in bed.

And now he was trying to run through the woods with a hard-on. He stopped, panting, and sniffed around for the stream he’d recently passed. He found it up ahead and drank to relieve his thirst.

After sating himself, he entered a small, unoccupied enclosure near some boulders and curled up for a rest. He really had been up all day and night. Panicked to find her, he’d made sure, at least, that Gerald had things well in hand to help Sarah before he’d left. If the bears and wolves ate each other in the meantime, so be it. And as far as the silver foxes trying to pass that new mandate about mating…so long as they paired him with Julia, he didn’t care.

Fuzzy with exhaustion, he didn’t consider marriage to the shifty fox a bad thing. He fell asleep dreaming about what should have been.

“Please, Ty. Make love to me. I want you.” Julia sighed, her breath sweet with alcohol and something else.

Ty parted his lips, allowing the scent of her to linger on his tongue. He hadn’t wanted anyone this badly, ever. Though that should have worried him, at the moment, he didn’t care. A better man than him would tell her no, wouldn’t take advantage of her soft plea. But Ty needed her.

He stripped out of his clothing, incredibly aroused. He took his time removing Julia’s clothes. He’d seen her undressed before. Each and every time he’d had to hide his erection. Now he proudly showed her what she did to him as he slid her shirt to the floor and followed it with her skirt.

To his shock, she wore no underclothes. Her small, perfect breasts fit in his hands as if made for him. Her nipples stabbed his palms as he cupped her, and she moaned his name like a prayer.

“Suck them, Ty. Yes,” she whispered when he lowered his head. He took first one then the other nipple in his mouth. With gentle bites he sucked her closer to orgasm. Her need hit him hard, the scent of her heat one that would carry past her house to the other males around them.

Ty needed to claim her, to mingle his semen within her ripe body. Except Julia didn’t want to wait. She pushed him away, all vixen now, and dropped to the floor. On her hands and knees, she crawled to him, her eyes like cinnamon beads, her rich, dark red hair shining under the dim light of a nearby lamp.

So sleek and pretty. For a small woman, she moved like she owned the world. And she owned him, of that there was no doubt. Ty stood on shaky legs, watching with narrowed eyes as she approached. She didn’t stop, stalking him like a true predator.

She kissed her way up his legs, from his calves to his knees to his thighs.

Trembling with need, he let her spread his legs wider. Her hot breath excited his tight sac, and then she ran her tongue along his shaft, catching the falling drop of come from his slit. Her mouth closed over him, so slowly, like ecstatic torture he never wanted to end…

Ty frowned, wanting Julia to take all of him, when a foreign voice that didn’t belong anywhere near her intruded. “I’m telling you, something’s not right about that bastard.”

He blinked into darkness and wondered how long he’d been out.

“So beat the shit out of him, take Julia and fuck her out of your system. Hell, if you’re really set on making Mama happy, marry her and give Mama that grandkid she’s wanting,” one of Ned’s brothers said.

“Yeah, what Dave said. That way she’ll leave us alone,” the other added.

Their footsteps approached, the crunching of branches giving way under large boots.

“With Jason taking Meghan, that little shithead will finally be out of our hair.”

“Kid’s not bad,” Dave said.

“He doesn’t belong, and you know it,” Ned replied, his deep baritone impossible to mistake. “What the hell did he need to go to school for? Only thing he’s good for is giving Mama money when she needs it. Meghan’s a hot piece, I’ll give you that. Not as hot as Julia though.”

Ty growled and the men froze.

“You hear that?” the other Williams brother asked.

“Sounded close.” Someone cocked a rifle.

Ty stilled. He couldn’t see them, and he had no idea if they were all armed or not.

“Point is, I need that fucker away from Julia. Woman’s being stubborn as all get-out, but I know she wants it. Maybe if I promise to put a ring on her, she’ll settle down. That’s all any of them want, anyway. Marriage.” Ned snorted. “But you know, Julia’s different from the women in town. I can’t explain it, but there’s something kind of wild about her.”

She’ll rip your balls off and feed them to you, Ty wanted to snarl. Instead he lay still, listening.

“I bet she’s hot as hell in the sack.”

“But she’s so little.”

“Perfect for me,” Ned boasted. “Wonder how much cock she can take?”

“Man, I wonder if Gabby’d like to hang around?” Dave asked.

“All the sisters are fine. Too bad Jason won’t share. Little idiot thinks he’s too smart for us. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s good he’s moving away,” the other brother commented.

“So what, you want to go back and deal with this Roderick guy or what?”

Ned answered, “No. Not yet. I want him to meet Dad first. With all of us there together, he’ll shit a brick for sure. I’ll take him aside, talk to him nice-like.” His brothers snickered. “Then he’ll leave town and leave Julia behind. Once she sees the real me, she’ll be begging for it. Hell, if she’s as good as she looks, maybe I really will marry her, and she and I can get to work on making Mama those grandkids.”

“And if she doesn’t want to?”

“She will.” Ned’s surety raised Ty’s hackles. “One way or another, that woman’s going to belong to me. No one says no to Ned Williams.”

Long after they left, Ty followed their path back to their truck. He then trailed their tracks through the woods toward a rundown house full of people. At least a half dozen wandered in and out of a wood and brick house. Off to the left sat a barn full of tools and a still, complete with moonshine and the requisite old men reminiscing to fit the picture. A family reunion, Ned had said. Terrific.

Quietly, Ty skirted the barn and trotted around the house, only to come nose to nose with a Husky sleeping downwind. The dog opened his eyes in a flash and let out a series of warning growls and barks. The only thing keeping him back was the chain around his throat.

Ty slipped away from the attention drawing near and ran back into the woods.

“Damn, that’s the second fox I’ve seen this week. Not as red as the other one that keeps hanging around, though. Get your gun, son. Time to go huntin’.”

A glance over his shoulder showed an older version of Ned—same large frame, same dirty brown hair but threaded with gray, same mean, squinty brown gaze.

Then what he’d said dawned on Ty, and he raced back the way he’d come. Not as red as the other one.

Ty was going to paddle Julia silly for putting herself in danger. Because he knew, without a doubt, that Julia had been staking out the perceived threat to protect her sisters.

He’d put an end to that. The vixen wouldn’t put herself in danger anymore, not now that she had Ty to protect her.

The return trip through the woods took a long time. His run no longer freeing, Ty felt every mile between himself and Julia like one great distance he had to breach. When he saw the light of her cabin glowing in the distance, he sighed with relief. Not only tired, but hungry and annoyed as well, Ty had a few choice words to share with Julia, Gabby and Meghan.

He froze outside the back door, catching Jason’s scent. Dammit, I forgot about dinner with him.

Making up his mind, he scratched at the back door and let out a yip.

“Did you hear that? I’ll be right back,” Julia said loud enough to be heard back in Cougar Falls. Obviously his woman hadn’t mastered the art of subtlety.

His woman?

The minute she opened the door and looked at him, everything clicked.

Hell yes, his woman. For now, just for now, the independent male inside him reminded.

“Open a back window. And hurry the hell up,” he shared with a snarl, eager to yell at her for daring to skirt the Williams homestead.

Ac-taw in their animal forms spoke using body language and a shared telepathy with others of their kind. Communication was generally not a problem. Unless the stubborn woman you were trying to talk to slammed the door in your face.

With a wry grin at the gauntlet she’d thrown, Ty mentally picked it up. That’s right, baby. Game on. Nobody outmaneuvers Ty Roderick, not even one very delectable, sexy female. And I’m really going to enjoy making you pay.