He didn't know what he was doing here. Glancing at the girl, Linda, beside him Ash frowned wondering just how he'd got himself in this position. They sat side by side in companionable silence, companionable only because Linda had fallen asleep. His ears ached from all the questions she had bombarded him with. Now she leaned against him, her head on his shoulder and her breast squished against his arm. Every time the bus hit a pothole flattened teasingly against him. He wasn't sure if it was the best or the worst journey of his life.
This time yesterday his world had been undisturbed. Go to work five nights a week, take the odd day shift to boost his savings, eat, sleep, trying to resist shifting into a wolf was the only thing that made it interesting for him. Until today.
Last night he'd thought he'd helped a young woman escape from a brutal rape outside a nightclub. Today he was the most wanted man in the city they were leaving behind. Wolf; the most wanted wolf. The two guys that had been abusing the girl turned out to be valid punters. She was a whore, they were her clients and it turned out that they had righteously paid for the services they had been enjoying. He hadn't even realised till he'd woken up this morning that she was a wolf too. He could curse his own stupidity all he liked but he'd pushed his forced change of skin beyond its limits and had been heading to the park to change at the time. He'd been somewhat distracted.
She'd been preparing to leave when those same two wolves had broken into his apartment and attacked him. He'd woken up hurt and bleeding. The worst part was that the two goons had been completing their original transaction when he'd come to. Worst because, yet again, his wolf had jump to conclusions that were unfounded and 'rescued' the unlikely damsel again. This time he'd killed the guy. It was the wolf way; defend your territory and all that is in it. Well Linda wasn't his territory but she was within it. It wasn't helped by the fact that she had been play-acting the reluctant victim for them. It had been too much for his bruised wolf to endure. He'd been in like Flynn before his brain to could make the more rational connections.
Now he had lost his jobs, his apartment and his anonymity. Stuffed into his backpack were his savings and a few clothes. That was all he had to show for two years of knuckling down and trying to fit in. Old angers and resentments rose to the surface when he had thought he'd buried them. His life had turned into a bag of shit since he'd been unfortunate enough to survive a werewolf six years ago. How bloody ironic that his life might have been improved had he died that night.
Now he was stuck with Linda for at least a few weeks whilst they waited out the wolves' decision. Ash wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing. After the best part of six years alone it was more than a little disconcerting to be saddled with twenty-four hour company all of a sudden. Before becoming a wolf he would probably have been using the free time whilst Linda slept to work out whether or not to make a move on her.
She was a ripe woman. Shorter than him, much shorter, he guessed her to be about five foot two inches. She had an impish face, big eyes and wide mouth that seemed to constantly be moving. For her size she had large boobs, they'd spill over his hand if he cupped them, and a firm round arse that also begged to be squeezed. Problem was she was a whore. Ash's experience of the darker side of life made him wary of that specific type of female. To his knowledge they were an untrustworthy breed, women in general were a mystery to him, whores even more so.
A reluctant grin spread across his face as he thought about his savings in his backpack. There was no reason why he couldn't pay for he wanted though. Damn it, two weeks locked in a cabin with her and he'd leave a pauper. An exhausted, very satisfied pauper.
Ash shook the thoughts from his head and nudged Linda awake; she stretched and yawned, looking up at him sleepily. He was already missing that soft insistent pressure of her breast pressed to him, but he couldn't resist watching the way her t-shirt stretched across them as she arched her back to stretch out her cramped muscles.
It was going to be a long couple of weeks.
Linda adjusted her holdall across her back for the hundredth time. Whoever it was that Ash had borrowed a hideout from must live like a hermit. They were miles from anywhere. The woods were ten degrees cooler than the mild early summer that was happening elsewhere. Linda didn't feel ten degrees cooler, she was feeling hot and sweaty, in a less than pleasant way. It was on the tip her tongue to ask how much further it was but Ash had been decreasingly patient with questions since they stepped off the bus.
She couldn't even complain really since this was her idea. Well not the whole middle of nowhere, ten-mile hike thing, but getting out of the city at least. She fixed her eyes on the spot in the centre of Ash's shoulder blades and just kept walking. It was the devil in her that pushed her forward. Every now and then her fixed gaze would irritate Ash enough that he would turn and glare at her. It was a wolf thing.
Anything that watched you was a challenge, either you backed down from that challenge or rose to it. She wasn't making eye contact so she wasn't being challenging but Ash couldn't tell that without see her. It was naughty to tease him like that since he thought he was doing the honourable thing. She bit her lip; he was going to be mighty pissed off when he realised. There were two possible outcomes, he would never see or speak to her again, or he would simple kill her. He was capable of it. He must have moved fast to take out the city Alpha. He didn't get to the top dog spot without fighting for it. Then again he was balls deep in her arse at the time and only two thrusts away from heaven.
Linda stopped dead. "Wolf." She muttered. "Shit, are we muscling in on someone's territory here?"
Ash looked over his shoulder without stopping. "Friend of mine, we have permission to be here."
"Wow, you have friends?" She didn't know why she let her mouth run off like that; it seemed she just couldn't help herself. "You guys stay friends because you don't visit or despite it?"
Ash curled his lip; she could hear low edge of a growl rumbling from his chest. Yep, she was pressing his buttons all right. Not necessarily the buttons she wanted to be pressing but she was still getting his attention.
"We're not friends exactly. He owes me a favour; I called it in today. Feel better now?"
"Much." She called. With a hiss of temper she sped up. She was never usually this easy to ignore; this guy was really starting to bug her. "You don't get out much do you?"
Ash stopped and turned around. "What?"
"You." She pointed her finger at his chest, taking the time to catch him up properly. "Don't. Get. Out." She spread her hands to indicate the wilderness surrounding them. "Do you. You have the social skills of a skunk babe. It's not a complaint; it's an observation."
"You expect me to hold out my arm for you, throw my coat over puddles for you after you caused all this?"
Ah, here it was. They hadn't had this out yet. Give him credit; she hadn't thought it would happen for a day or two. He looked like he could be a brooder.
"I caused all this?" She repeated sourly. "You chewed out the throat of the alpha of the city and it's my fault."
"Everywhere I turn you are taking two cocks and weeping for help at the same time, it's confusing." Ash muttered. He blushed, from neck to brows, something that hadn't happened since he'd left school.
"Can I help it if I am good at my job?"
"Are you?"
Linda stumbled at the softly spoken question. She twisted to look at him; there was no judgement on his face just open curiosity. "Yeah, I am very good. You tell me what you like and I'll make it happen."
Ash swallowed. "And you must get asked for all kinds of weird stuff."
Was that a statement or a question? Linda didn't know. She walked backwards for a few steps, shoulders back and hips swinging, he didn't directly look but she was fairly sure he noticed.
"Oh yeah. Honey I am a wolf girl. Do you know how unusual that is?" She laughed and turned away from him, forgetting that he needed to lead since she didn't know the way.
"I know."
He didn't sound too happy at knowing. Linda rolled her eyes; he didn't seem overly happy about anything, at all, ever. It was her turn to feel his eyes boring into her. It didn't make her snappish or unsteady, she liked it. She liked it when men looked, even more when they liked looking. She wasn't convinced that Ash was enjoying the view. He might want to fuck her but he wasn't happy about wanting that. Still she couldn't tell if that was because she was a wolf or a whore. Sex worker. She corrected herself.
"Are you going to be this glum for the whole time?"
