“What?”

I nudged him with my elbow. “I’m curious. What’s it like to be a werewolf? Do you change whenever the light of the full moon hits you? Do you run through the forest, howling? Are you an actual wolf when you change or do you become a sort of wolfman hybrid?”

Calder lifted a hand. “Whoa, slow down, woman. You just asked me four questions without pausing for an answer.”

I shrugged, my nice buzz preventing embarrassment from rising. “I’ve been dying to ask these questions for months. This is the first time I’ve had a chance without the risk of offending someone.”

“How do you know you aren’t offending me?” he asked teasingly.

“Well, you want to have sex with me, right?”

I stopped when he shook his head, but laughed when he said, “Having sex is not how I would describe what I want to do to you. Making you come so hard you scream would be a good start.”

I shifted in my seat as those words caused heat to streak through my body. Damn, this man was going to bring me to orgasm with sweet talk alone.

I sipped my vodka to wet my suddenly dry throat. “I just thought that you’d be more open to answering my questions since you’re interested in spending naked time with me.” I giggled at the expression on his face.

“Naked time? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“Kids? Just how old are you, Grandpa?” I asked, heavy on the sarcasm.

“I’m forty-seven.”

I felt my eyes widen. “What? You’re joking, right?”

Calder smirked and shook his head. “No. I’ll be forty-eight in a couple of months.”

“Okay, now I’m not sure if I’m okay with lusting after a man that’s almost twenty years older than me or grossed out.”

Calder stared at me as though a third eyeball had popped out of my forehead. I managed to hide my giggle behind my glass as I sipped my vodka.

“Wolves age more slowly than humans.” His voice was a tad defensive and he actually looked a little miffed.

Deciding I’d teased him enough for the time being, I asked, “What’s the typical lifespan of a werewolf?”

Eyeing me warily, Calder sat back on the couch and propped his feet on the ottoman in front of us. “Usually five or six hundred years. So, by wolf standards, I’m practically still a pup.”

Unable to resist, I asked, “So, in werewolf years, you’re, what, 16?” He growled at me, but I only laughed. This was too much fun.

“No,” he answered, his voice gravelly. “I would be considered to be in my prime. Would you like a demonstration?”

Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I shook my head.

He finally relaxed into the cushions, his arm coming around me and pulling me tight against his side. “Tease,” he grumbled.

Letting my weight rest against him, I wondered how I could be more comfortable around Calder, a person I’d met less than an hour ago, than I was around people I’d known for years.

I couldn’t believe that this little human woman was so blunt and unafraid. The fact that I could kill her without breaking a sweat didn’t seem to faze her in the least. Most humans, male or female, would give me a wide berth, never mind tease me about acting like a horny teenager.

She nudged me with her elbow again. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

Her tone was annoyed when she responded. “What’s it like?”

“Well, I wake up in the morning and go find a fire hydrant to piss on, then I eat and scratch myself before I take a nap. Unfortunately, I can’t lick my own balls unless I’m in wolf form.” Ricki smirked, but I could tell that she was disappointed with my cavalier answer to her question.

“What about fleas?” she asked. Though her words were flippant, her tone was flat, devoid of humor or even curiosity.

Unable to deal with her crestfallen expression and the loss of her exuberant attitude, I poured more Scotch into my glass and took a healthy swallow. “Do you want the honest answer?”

Ricki rolled her eyes, tossing her tangled curls over her shoulder. “No, I want you to make it all up. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want the truth.”

I placed my glass on the table next to the sofa and leaned back into the soft cushions. Since humans were rarely invited into the shifter world, I’d never had this conversation before. I wanted to laugh at the fact that I was nearly fifty years old and I hadn’t given much thought to what being a wolf truly meant or what it felt like. I simply existed.

“Being a shifter is like….” I paused, weighing my words carefully, “it’s like having another being inside your body and mind. When I’m in human form, I’m mainly in control. Though, I’ve learned the hard way not to ignore the other part of myself. One moment of inattention or slip in my willpower, and he can take over when he wants something badly enough.”

She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, then shut it quickly.

“Did you want to ask me something?”

“What do you mean take over?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Well, if I ignore the needs of my animal side or fight my instincts too hard, I’ll shift and I won’t be able to stop it or control it.”

“Who’s in control when you’re in your, uh, wolf form?” The question was hesitant, as though she was concerned that she was offending me.

“I still have control, just not as much. When a shifter changes, their animal instincts become almost undeniable, especially predators. The urge to hunt becomes especially strong. That’s why you never, ever run from a supernatural being, whether vampire or shifter. Especially a shifter in animal form. We’re predators. Anything that flees immediately becomes prey.”

Ricki nodded. “So, what kind of things do you and your wolf disagree upon?”

Tracking her thought processes was a little like hunting jack rabbits. All over the place and hard to follow. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

She gestured with her free hand. “Well, you said that you might change if your wolf wanted something badly and you denied that part of yourself. Are we talking about craving a Big Mac or chewing on body parts?”

Where in the hell did she get these macabre ideas? Probably TV and movies and other lore fueled by misinformation.

“No, it’s not like that,” I hedged.

Beginning to sound exasperated, she asked “Then what is it like? Give me a specific example.”

As she spoke, my eyes wandered down to her mouth, then her breasts. The wolf stretched inside me, growling, because he liked what he saw and he liked it a lot. Normally, he didn’t give a damn about humans unless he was hungry, but, for some reason, that part of me lusted after this woman. She smelled different. She was different.

She. Is. Mine.

“Right now?” I questioned. When she nodded, I shifted forward, sitting so close to her that I could feel the heat rising off her skin. Her pupils expanded at the whisper of contact. “Right now, my wolf wants to see if you taste as good as you smell.” I let my gaze travel down the rest of her body. “Especially the flavor between your thighs.”

The scent of female arousal spiked around me and I had to close my eyes. Once again, I was dangerously close to losing control. Our bodies brushed as her muscles coiled. Shit, I pushed too far and she was going to run.

When she sprang to her feet, I stood with her, unable to stop myself. My hand grasped the nape of her neck firmly, holding her in place. She gasped, wide brown eyes staring up at me in surprise.

“Don’t move. Please, don’t move.” My voice sounded guttural and harsh and her scent changed. Instead of desire, I smelled something almost as tempting and sweet; fear. Even as the predatory part of my nature demanded that I take down my prey, I despised my reaction. I hated that I was scaring her. I took an unsteady breath. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m not trying to scare you. Just remember what I said; don’t run from a shifter or a vamp. If you run from me, I will chase you. I won’t be able to stop myself.”