Page 56 of Seduced By the Werewolves

“Hi,” I manage to say.

Leon’s big, furry arms wrap around me and drag me in close to his chest, while his wet nose burrows into my hair.

“Good morning,” he murmurs, his voice chalky and thick like it was last night. On the other side of me, someone else is moving. I feel clawed hands, enormous ones, slide over my hip.

“Do you feel any better?” asks Jace’s deep voice, and when Leon releases me, I turn over to find a thick, gray pelt. When I look up, a big werewolf face is peering down back at me, and I know by his glittering eyes that it’s Jace.

“I…” I fumble for my words, still groggy. “I think so?” My face feels tight after crying so much last night.

“Maybe you should call in sick to work.” It’s Quinn this time, and I finally sit up, wondering exactly where I am.

The room is huge, and so is the bed. Morning light streams in through a high skylight overhead. Quinn is sitting up like a dog waiting for dinner, while Jace and Leon are both sprawled across it—all of them in their werewolf forms.

“I can’t.” I rub my eyes and look down at my phone one more time, knowing I don’t have long to get home and change before work. “He would kill me.”

“Then quit.” Leon sits up next to me, towering over me. Holy shit. He’s even bigger than Jace or Quinn—truly monstrous. “That piece of shit doesn’t deserve you.”

It just makes me want to cry all over again. I don’t have a choice, and I really don’t want to explain it to them.

Pulling away from the fur pile, I climb off the huge bed. It’s definitely big enough for three full-grown werewolves and one… me.

“Sorry,” is all I can say as I tuck my phone back into my pocket. “I have to go.”

Quinn frowns and gets to his feet, too. He stops me with a clawed paw on my shoulder. “Wait. Are you sure? That was a really bad panic attack last night.” He leans down so his big muzzle is in front of my face, and he licks me across the cheek. “We’re worried about you.”

I push him away.

“I’m fine.” I have to keep my resolve hard and unyielding, or else I’ll never leave this warm, wonderful place. “Can you take me back to the restaurant so I can get my car?”

That’s when the door opens, and someone walks in. It’s Eli, in his human form, dangling my keys.

“We got it for you last night.” He tosses them to me, and I barely catch them. I can’t read the look on his face. Unlike his brothers, Eli seems to keep his feelings much closer to the chest.

“Thank you.” I grip them tight in my hand. “I appreciate that.”

Eli just nods.

Jace leads me back to my car, leaving the others behind at their odd house-in-the-hill. My sedan is parked out front of the cabin right next to the Lupine Landscaping truck. He doesn’t seem at all worried that someone might see him in his werewolf form.

“I’m sorry things went so sideways last night,” Jace says, bringing up one of his enormous hands to my cheek. He pulls me in for a hug, and reluctantly, I accept it. Once I’m buried in his gray fur, though, all I want to do is stay. His huge paws roam down my sides, over the wrinkled edges of the dress I wore yesterday. It felt so cute at the time, and now I wonder just how much my makeup ran last night.

When I tense up under his hands, Jace leans back and peers down at me. “Tiff…” He strokes my cheek with one huge, clawed paw. “I hate seeing you hurt like this. Please don’t go back to that office today.”

I don’t want to go, either. I don’t want to face Mr. Bosley after last night, but I can’t leave until I have another option lined up or I won’t make rent next month.

“Thank you,” is all I say in answer, putting my small hand over his big one. “Thanks for being there for me last night.”

Jace nods slowly, but his eyes are concerned. “I’ll always be there for you.” He rubs his cheek against the top of my head. “You’re mine, as long as you’ll put up with me and my inane jokes.”

I can’t help a sniffle, because they’re all so sweet, so kind and genuine, that I don’t even know if I deserve them. Jace licks my cheek, clearing away my tears.

“Put up with you?” I ask with a shaky laugh. “You’re the one who has to put up with me.”

“Never! I…” Jace halts for a moment, then takes a long, deep breath. He crouches down in front of me, so we’re close to eye-level, and briefly touches the tip of his wet nose to mine. “I love you, Tiff. You could ask anything of me, and I’d do it for you.”

My heart stutters in my chest at these fully vulnerable words. I just want to cry all over again, but I settle for throwing my arms around him and hugging him with all my might. Big arms loop around me, and Jace brings me in as close as he can. I giggle a little when I feel something rather large and wet nudge at my belly.

“Sorry,” he says, voice muffled by my hair. “I guess hugging you turns me on.”

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