Black Gold by Vivian Arend Read Free Book Online Page B

with cutbacks, right?
    And who the heck cared what the gates were made of when the streets beyond were lined with visions like this one.
    He stepped forward and took a deep breath. Angelic perfume flooded his brain and erased all thoughts except needing to see if his other senses were going to be treated to an incredible feast tonight.
    Then the angel opened her eyes, and he stared into dark glistening obsidian pools. Right before she vanished.

    Black Gold

    Gem snapped her mouth shut, trapping the scream that threatened to burst free. It wasn’t turning to discover a man in her room—a naked man—that stunned her the most. The complete flip-flop her belly turned as her wolf sat up and howled in delight wasn’t enough to shock her into letting a girlish cry escape.
    It was staring into the man’s eyes as all his humanity drained away. Watching as he transformed into the biggest, most enormous and bushiest black wolf she’d ever seen in her life, the beast immediately crashing to the floor between the wall and the bed.
    She snatched up her shirt and held the fabric in front of her. Then the stupidity of attempting to cover herself when she had a much bigger issue at hand hit—there was a strange wolf at her feet and her own itching to come out and say hello. Being mostly naked was nothing compared to that.
    Gem took one step, then another, slow and cautious until she reached the end of the bed. She nudged one furry paw with her toe. “Hello? Are you okay?”
    No response.
    She peeked into the space behind the now open door, figuring out the rooms were pretty much identical. He’d opened his side, and she must have left hers unlocked. With that mystery solved, she turned back to deal with the more difficult one of the furry beast sprawled on her floor.
    Deep inside she felt it again—a nearly violent urge to change and let her wolf crawl all over his. The scent in the air had returned to intoxicating levels, even higher than she’d experienced earlier in the office with Evan.
    Oh my . Oh no. Through the haze of lust coating her mind like a thick coastal fog, the only possible solution pulsed out a lighthouse-warning signal.
    Her mate? For real this time?
    A low rumble bounced off the wall, urgent growls and moans increasing as the wolf scrambled to his feet. Gem retreated instinctively before making a stand.
    She was not going to freak out. One hand shot forward, palm upright.
    “Freeze right there, mister.”
    The wolf ignored her, pacing closer until he stood on top of her feet. Then he rubbed against her legs, bumping hard enough to force her to sit on the bed. The mattress swayed under her hips as he jumped up and joined her, the bulk of his wolf body dipping the surface.
    He sniffed her cheek and sighed happily, the warmth of his breath hitting her squarely on the neck.
    Gem twisted to bring up one leg and face him better.
    “You don’t take direction very well, do you?”
    A wolfish grin, with a full flash of teeth greeted her just before he stuck out his tongue and licked her from jaw to hairline.

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    33

    Vivian Arend
    She giggled and grabbed him. All thoughts of how utterly enormous his wolf was compared to the other wolves she knew disappeared as she wrestled with him on the mattress. Instantly comfortable with this stranger in her room, she targeted all the prime wolf ticklish spots, laughing as he squirmed under her.
    Then he rolled and shifted at the same time, and instead of the weight of a furry wolf pinning her to the bed, the full length of a very smooth-skinned, muscular and naked man held her captive. His black hair hung in unruly tangles around his head, beautiful dark brown eyes with simply enormous pupils filling their cores hovered inches over hers.
    A squarish jaw. The smile she’d seen moments earlier on his wolf—the expression was still there, although his teeth were now human-shaped and even. His nose had a slight bump in the middle, broken at some point she