Free Howl at the Moon by LeTeisha Newton Page A

her scalp. With every push, his chest rubbed hers and she felt her desire spike higher.
    She didn’t see Stephen. She didn’t even feel him. She focused on her body, on what she had seen in the mirror. Of what Clyde would feel like against her. As sexy as Stephen was, he didn’t hold a candle to Clyde. Still, his body was big, invasive, and reminiscent of Clyde. In her mind’s eye, he became Clyde. That was the only way she was going to find herself reacting to him.
    “Done. This could get hard for you, Tatiana. But I want you to trust me. I won’t push you too far, not even for my own pride. This is about you, not a pissing contest between me and Clyde. I know that, and so do you. He just doesn’t know it. And, as I have no interest in you, even though you make a delectable picture, you can be comfortable with me. Okay?”
    Stephen’s speech soothed her soul. She wasn’t one to play around but this could be fun. She could be free to be the woman she wanted to be. She could have fun like she wanted. She didn’t have to worry if she was doing things right or if she was desirable. She knew that she was. She’d nearly blown her own mind touching herself.
    Maybe Tweet had been onto something!
    “Okay,” she finally replied.
    “Now, children, I need you to play nice. Tatiana, as hard as it’s going to be, I don’t want you to look over at Clyde. I want you to act as if he were a tree. Put his face on Stephen, call him Clyde, but quietly, if you need to. Let this be your dream date and let Stephen follow where you lead. But, if you look over at Clyde repeatedly during dinner, he is going to feel that something isn’t right. He is going to realize the game you are playing at and we will lose more ground than you want to. I would have gone with you as a double date to make you more comfortable, but Clyde already knows me.”
    “You let him see you already, Aaron?”
    “No choice. The situation called for it and I don’t think Tatiana is complaining at all, are you, doll?” Tatiana felt like she was blushing from head to foot. The cheeky ass.
    “Didn’t think so,” Aaron finished.
    “Fine. Just lean on me, Tatiana. Wait, is there another name I can call you? Something that Clyde does?”
    “You could call me ‘T’ but all my close friends call me that, including Clyde. That won’t really set you apart.”
    “And we don’t want to use something you could only see Clyde calling you. I won’t go basic and use baby. That’s so blasé,” Stephen groaned, leaning over on Aaron. Aaron laughed, patting him on the cheek.”
    “You’re right. Hmm,” Aaron said, finger to his chin in thought. “What about liebe ?”
    “ Liebe ?” Tatiana asked.
    “It’s German for dear,” Stephen answered, shocking Tatiana.
    “Clyde has German ancestry and I am sure he speaks German, yes?” Aaron asked Tatiana.
    “Well, yeah, he does.”
    “Well, if he’s calling you ‘dear’ in German, he’ll know it. It’s intimate, without being something he would necessarily call you.”
    “That will work. I can converse at least moderately in German so I can make that work. We’ll go with that. Are you ready to go, liebe ?” Stephen asked, smiling.
    “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Chapter Nine
    Clyde thought he was going to crawl through his skin. His wolf was clawing at him. He never should have touched Tatiana again. He should have run as far away as possible like his father told him, before stealing off into the night like a bandit. His father’s threat to dispose of them all still rang in his eardrums. But the minute he’d walked into the office and Sharice was “helpful” enough to tell him a man had come in to see Tatiana, he’d nearly blown a gasket. Since his shift, his sense of smell was greater. He could literally smell the want and need wafting off Sharice in droves. He knew immediately that, if given the chance, she would be in his office and on her knees to please him.
    Her need had recoiled within