WeresDigest Read Free Page A

he? What’s he got that we don’t?” he griped.
    “I got to admit the ladies do like him. We seem to
float away into non-existence as soon as he makes an appearance.” He climbed
into his own clothes then slapped Jake on the back. “Let’s go down to the
kitchen and have a pint.”
    “Better idea,” Jack replied, “How about heading down
to the den?”
    Max sighed, thinking how dull the Weres’ Den was of
late. No new ladies about or new members to stir things up. Boring. “How about
The King’s Tavern, instead? I hear talk in London about some new serving girls
there that might be of interest.”
    “Lead the way, brother!”
    * * * *
    Carrie Sweeney was a good Irish girl; her mum had told
her so, her da—now gone from this earth—her aunts and uncles, her four older
brothers, and her parish priest, had all confirmed the fact. But now, as she
stood within the muscular embrace of a tall, golden-haired man, her breasts
pressed tight against him, passion lurked deep inside her—a wickedness she’d
never felt before. She wanted to be wicked and make love with this perfect
stranger. She wanted to shed all of her clothing and feel his big body pressed
against hers, as it was now.
    She’d come out the back door of her place of
employment, The King’s Tavern near Covent Garden in London, glass pitchers in
hand, to toss out the last drops of unconsumed ale when she saw him. At first,
her eyes had deceived her for she’d thought she saw hair on his face and on his
hands, and crouched on all fours. He appeared extraordinarily large, even
slumped over, but then he straightened up and she knew she must have been
mistaken, for he was a true flesh and blood man who now held her in his arms.
    Besides, she’d left her spectacles in her reticule
behind the bar inside, and with her vision not being the best, she had to be
wrong—doubts assailed her again. Her vision wasn’t that bad! Hadn’t she seen
him down on the ground, as though he had four legs? Not likely, she decided,
for this was a desirable male of the human species standing on two legs, and
holding her with two strong arms.
    Nearly swooning in his embrace, there was nowhere else
she wanted to be. His lips were pressed against hers, smooth, and cool,
enticing. Carrie stopped herself from purring aloud when he nipped at her lips,
then slid his tongue inside her mouth, sweeping it over her teeth. Her legs
weakened and she felt his hold tighten, holding her up since she couldn’t stand
on her own.
    “You are so sweet,” he whispered against her lips.
“What is your name?”
    “Carrie…Sweeney,” she said between kisses. “And you
are....”
    His only response was to deepen the kiss, making her
think again how mistaken she’d been—no four-legged creature was he—but a full-blooded man. She shook her head,
and silently scolded herself for her vanity and leaving her spectacles inside.
No one at The King’s Tavern knew she wore them. She saw well enough to carry
food and drink to tables, though she’d stumbled more than a few times over a
man’s leg stretched out in the aisle.
    She’d always hated her weak eyes and dealing with the
spectacles, not to mention the fact the boys never seemed to pay her much
attention when she wore them. And Carrie, good girl that she was, wanted to
capture a male’s attention—one that would want her for his wife.
    Carrie still had her arms around his neck and she went
up on tiptoes, not wanting the kiss to end. The man obliged her by sweeping her
up even closer to him, if possible, so her toes no longer touched the ground.
She enjoyed the embrace and the kisses, and thoughts of courting sprang into
her mind.
    Why not? Just because she was a country girl, whom
many a man would think nothing of bedding, and then leaving her with a broken
heart, it didn’t mean she couldn’t dream. And dream she did—of her knight on a
white horse in shining armor come to take her away from her dreary, mundane life.
Not that it was a