Saxon Einar leaned against the wall of Club Seduction, hands in his pockets and one foot crossed over the other. He was watching the clientele move throughout the large space as he looked for the right kind of female when he spotted her instead.
She was not the kind of female he was looking for. Not for him and not for this club. While most female patrons wore little clothing—one, because it attracted attention, and two, because it was hot in the club—this particular woman looked like she was coming home from work. Her skirt was too long, her blouse too buttoned up, her blonde hair pulled back too tightly, and her heels too low. And she was too young and too alone.
She stood out among the rest of the crowd and not in a good way. Saxon told himself to let it go. She was a big girl. But then he saw a group of young guys looking and pointing at her.
He sighed. The sentinel in him was too ingrained, and he couldn’t leave her vulnerable even if she wasn’t a shifter.
He pushed off from the wall and pulled his hands from his pockets. “Excuse me. Miss?” he said from behind her.
She spun around, and Saxon felt his heart skip a beat. He rubbed his chest. Her scent. It was…different. She was definitely human, but she didn’t smell like any human he’d met before. She also smelled flowery and feminine.
“Yes?” she asked.
He dropped his hand and squared his shoulders. “You really shouldn’t be here.”
She laughed.
“Miss, it’s not funny. You don’t belong in a place like this.”
She put her hand on her hip and narrowed her brown eyes. “The name is Demi, not miss, and how do you know where I belong?”
Jesus. Full of attitude, this one.
Why he’d thought she’d be grateful that someone was watching out for her, he didn’t know.
“This club is not your usual scene. If you’re looking for a glass of wine and a nice guy to chat up, this isn’t the place.” He debated on whether or not to say the next part, but he figured she needed a reality check. “People come here to fuck. You’re not going to find your next boyfriend here.”
*****
Demi pulled the clip out of her updo and let her hair fall down across her shoulder.
Ah…
That felt so good after a long day at work.
She looked at the tall, large man in front of her. He had unusual brown-and-blond-striped hair, intense green eyes, and a soul patch under his thick bottom lip. She hadn’t known guys even sported those anymore, but it worked on him.
She took a deep breath. Shifter. Cat-shifter to be exact. He smelled like the woods her grandmother would take her to when she was a girl.
Her hormones surged, and the male’s nostrils flared.
She was already crawling out of her skin with the need to have sex, and her cat liked the strong, virile man in front of her.
But she knew what he saw. She wasn’t dressed right, and everyone always thought she was a lot younger than her thirty-two years.
“Listen, you have no idea what I want.” Or what I need.
And she needed to get laid. Due to her human DNA, she ovulated and got her period every month, like any other human woman would. But, because of her shifter DNA, she also went into heat. It wasn’t as bad as a heat that a full shifter female went through, but Demi’s body still demanded she have sex, or her cravings would become painful.
There were ways around it. She could medicate herself, but she really only needed to get laid once a month, and she was fine. Her heat didn’t last for days, like a shifter, which was a blessing. And, thanks to birth control, she didn’t actually ovulate, and her heat was a little less intense. It would be nice if it went away altogether, but that wasn’t going to happen until menopause.
She’d just settled into a good routine with her last friend with benefits. Friend was a generous term. They were more like acquaintances with benefits. He’d finally stopped asking to go to her place because she didn’t let anyone come over. He’d let her drop by whenever she called. She hated to use the term for a human, but she’d had him trained. Then, he’d had to go and meet someone, and now, their once-a-month hook-up was off the table.
That was what had brought Demi to the club to look for a replacement. And she didn’t need this guy getting in her way.
He stepped closer. “You don’t understand. You could get hurt here.”
She put her hand on his strong chest, and he clenched his jaw.
“Look…what’s your name?”
“Saxon.”
“Look, Saxon, I appreciate your concern. But I’ll be fine. I’m a lot stronger than I look.” She took a step back. “Now, if you’ll excuse—”
*****
The only reason Saxon pulled her into his arms and kissed her was because she couldn’t seem to get it through her thick skull that this wasn’t the place for her and someone might take advantage of her. If he had to be that someone, then so be it.
But he sure hadn’t expected her to taste so damn good. Or for her mouth to open under his and for her to suck on his tongue. His cock went hard, and it took all his willpower not to rub it against her.
Goddamn it. He wanted to fuck her now. This was not how this was supposed to go down.
He let himself have one last taste before he put his hands on her biceps and gently set her away from him.
“Next time, the guy is going to want more than a kiss. I suggest you find somewhere more suited to your needs.”
Then, he spun and walked away. He had planned to spend the night relaxing before taking someone home at closing, but now, he needed to find a female. He adjusted his aching erection. The sooner, the better.
*****
Good riddance.
Saxon was a jerk who thought he knew what was better for her than she did. He didn’t even know her, and he’d assumed what kind of person she was.
Demi knew she looked out of place, but she hadn’t had time to go home and change. Her need was getting stronger, and contrary to what Saxon thought, she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. Who cared how she looked?
She set off in the opposite direction to find someone to take her home. There were couples, threesomes, and groups even larger than that making out around the room, but it didn’t faze her.
Demi knew she looked like a librarian because she actually was one, but that was her job and only one part of who she was. She’d been to Club Seduction before, and there wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen.
She went over to the bar to get a drink. Maybe that would cool her head. Saxon’s kiss still lingered on her lips, and she could feel where his soul patch had scratched her chin.
Damn. It wasn’t fair that he was such a good kisser.
Her traitorous mind began to wonder what else he could do with his body if he could kiss like that.
A guy sitting on a barstool at the counter smiled at her, and she smiled back.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.”
“You need a drink?”
“I do.”
“What can I order for you?”
She paused and then shouted to the bartender, “A rum and Coke, please.” She looked back at the guy and held out her hand. “I’m Demi.” And I can order my own drink. She didn’t want this guy to think she owed him something.
“I’m Brad,” he said and shook her hand.
The bartender brought her drink over, and she set her money on the counter before Brad could pay.
Demi studied him to see what he’d do. If he got mad, she was out of there. But Brad smiled and nodded his head as if he was saying, Good for you.
The stool on the other side of him opened up. “Would you like to sit?”
“Sure.”
*****
Demi took a drink as she tuned Brad out. Not on purpose, but, man, he was boring. And, every time there was movement off to the side, she would look to see if it was the Saxon guy.
It was time to bail on Brad. Her cat wanted nothing to do with him, and truthfully, neither did her human half. He might be in a club that was notorious for one-night stands, but that didn’t mean he was good at it.
She picked up her glass and swallowed the rest of her drink. She set it down and hopped off the stool. “Sorry, Brad. I gotta go.”
“But—wait—I mean—”
She patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck tonight,” she said and walked away.
She made her way to the back of the club, toward the dance floor, keeping her eyes out for someone to rock her world.
Her eyes landed on Saxon talking intimately with a female, and her cat practically purred.
Demi rolled her eyes and thought, What the hell? It wasn’t like she was going to marry the guy. She’d come here to get laid, and she was positive that Saxon could help her out with that.
She approached the couple, and Saxon straightened.
He raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you with something?” He nodded at the female he’d been speaking to as if to say, Can’t you see I’m busy?
“I’m sorry,” Demi told the woman with much sincerity. She was pretty. She’d find someone else. “But I need Saxon.”
The woman looked to Saxon and back to Demi and shrugged. “Okay. We’d just started talking anyway.”
The female left, and Saxon scowled at Demi. “What the hell do you want?”
“I need you to fuck me.”
