Can't Touch This by J. Hali Steele Read Free Book Online Page B

“But what if… I mean earlier I thought he would…”
    “Don’t tell me you’re afraid?” He chuckled. “Could have
fooled me the way you stood up to him.” Sikes examined her closely. “He, nor
his wolf, will ever harm you.”
    “I’m not sure if it’s fear of him and what he is or fear of
being misunderstood again.” Absently staring at the door, waiting for it to
open and Castle to come bounding through, Harlow added, “Tying myself to a wolf
shifter didn’t quite cross my mind when I woke up yesterday.” Her heart
ricocheted back and forth between her ribs. Sikes was right because try as she
might, Harlow couldn’t imagine Cass harming her in any way. Strength and
confidence dripped from his pores as a man, and the wolf exuded the same
control from what she observed briefly before he disappeared into the forest.
    “The choice is no longer yours.”
    “I could leave.”
    “Sweetheart, as long as you’re alive, he’ll find you.”
    “God!”
    “Well, it is how He made us. Must be some reason.”
    “I could have gone any place I wanted but it felt right when
I moved here.” Filling her lungs with air and expelling it repeatedly slowed
her erratic heartbeat. “Is he always so domineering?” Harlow already knew the
answer because she was quite aware the habit followed him to the bedroom as
well as other places. The scene at the truck stop entered her mind, causing a
bead of sweat to trickle down her back. What would Cass have done if the
trucker attempted to touch her? Jesus, she hadn’t told Cass she was married! What
would he do when that became known?
    “We tend to be possessive and being in control sort of
follows us in all areas of our lives.” Sikes touched her hand. “I hope that’s
not the problem.”
    Her cheeks grew warm. “Not exactly.”
    “Ahh, he’s found a kindred soul—a woman who likes to be
dominated.”
    “It’s not normal, it’s…”
    “Jesus, Harlow, that’s not what you meant earlier?”
    “You don’t think I’m weird?”
    He sighed. “No wonder he’s going nuts.”
    “Why would a human with these feelings make him nuts?”
Harlow swirled the gin in her glass. “I thought a bunch of submissives, or
omegas, inhabited wolf packs.”
    “It’s not the same. In the pack hierarchy there must be submissives to survive but it’s not by choice. You chose to be one.
That’s special.”
    “Me, special?” She began to understand. “How do I fix this?”
Harlow finished her drink.
    “The idea of losing you will keep him and his wolf berserk. Give
it time.”
    “Can I ask a personal question?”
    “As long as you don’t tell Castle I answered it.”
    “Does the wolf ever want… Does it need to have sex?” She
nibbled a fingernail. “He can never have that with me.”
    Sikes threw his head back and laughed. “We’ve been around
for eons and many have evolved so much they never change. Animals adjust
quickly in order to survive.” He stood and walked around the bar. “Those in
this area covet freedom they find in running as the wolf. Not all do.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Harlow, we are everywhere, have been for a long time.
Chances are you’ve come across one or two of my kind and didn’t even know it.”
    “I’ve heard stories.” She remembered her trips abroad to
older countries with more history. “I would have smelled them.”
    His eyes pierced her. “Smelled?”
    Harlow ignored his question. “This happened so fast.”
    “Funny how we all search for someone special and when they
come along, we immediately start second-guessing ourselves. Life doesn’t wait
while you decide which path to take.” He poured another shot and slid it to
her. “Sit at the crossroads too long, something will run up your ass.”
    “I saw women fawn over him at his restaurant. They were in
his lap. Hell, they hung from him like human neckties.”
    “Women are hard to keep… Damn, before you make snap
judgments, talk to Cass.”
    “Why?”
    “There