Free Submission to the Wolf (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Alpha Male Erotic Romance) by Billie Kasper Page A

artfully tossled. Damn, but it was a good look on this stranger.
     
    I breathed a sigh of relief. Change for a fiver was something I could do.
     
    “No problem,” I said, taking the bill out of his hand. Our fingers touched for a second and lingered for the most delicious of moments before breaking apart again.
     
    “I just need to get off the highway. Need it for the tolls,” the stranger explained as I counted out the cash.
     
    “Totally understand. Not a problem,” I replied. I was just glad that this guy wasn’t going to get belligerent with me, as the folks who come in late sometimes do. I hated that. And my parents had already gone home, so it was just me, alone in the diner with this stranger…
     
    “Do you live around here?” he asked suddenly. I could feel his hungry eyes looking me over and it took me a second to realize what that hunger meant. Did he want me? It sent a thrill up my spine to realize that, to see the way he licked his lips as he looked down the front of my shirt like so many other men did.
     
    “I do,” I said, but I didn’t offer any more details. I thrust the money towards him, hoping he would just go ahead and leave now…
     
    “Do you live by yourself?” he asked suddenly. Sharp, cold fear shot through my body. I stopped being attracted to this man and I started being afraid of him. Well, to be honest, I was still pretty attracted to him. Maybe even more so now that I knew what he was thinking…
     
    “No, with my parents,” I said carefully. He didn’t take the money. His eyes searched mine. That’s when I realized there was something… Something strange about them.
     
    Something unnatural. Unearthly, even.
     
    One eye was a deep, cobalt blue while the other… The other was an orange-hazel, almost like fire. It burned me and I was afraid and entranced at the same time.
     
    “I need a place to stay,” he said simply. “I can’t pay but I could offer you something else.”
     
    “Well, I don’t have anywhere for you to stay.”
     
    “Let me stay here.”
     
    “I can’t do that. This is a diner, not a hotel. You can get back on the highway and you’ll find a place in a couple miles.”
     
    “Can’t,” he said simply. “I can’t be on the highway. Can’t be outside.”
     
    He glanced nervously over his shoulder, through the window at the cloudy night sky.
     
    “This will sound crazy but… I’ve got to avoid the moon. At all costs.”
     
    “Why?”
     
    “Full moon tonight. It… does things to me.”
     

 
    Full Moon
     
    So the guy was a nut case. He was a complete, verifiable nut case. I let out a long, slow sigh. How the hell was I going to get out of this?
     
    He took the money and pocketed. Then, he vaulted himself over the counter, with the greatest of ease, ending up on the other side with me. I gasped, my eyes wide.
     
    “What’re you doing? Get away from me!” I shrieked, but of course there was no one to hear me.
     
    “I won’t hurt you,” he said softly and for some reason, I believed him. I relaxed and let him wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me close.
     
    “I bet you’ve never known a man before. What’s your name?”
     
    “Kelly,” I whispered, taking in his scent: he smelled like leather and tobacco. It was a good smell, a strong smell.
     
    “My name is Wisdom. I bet you’ve never known a man before, Kelly.”
     
    “I know plenty of men.”
     
    “But none like me. I promise you that.”
     
    “What makes you so special?” I whispered, becoming intrigued by this game in spite of myself.
     
    “I am a beast,” Wisdom said, leaning closer to me. In spite of my apprehension, I let him do it. I even leaned into him, inhaling his intoxicating scent, delighting in the way it washed over me.
     
    I could feel his strength underneath his clothing and when his lips touched my neck, it drove me wild. His lips were like electricity, biting into my soft flesh and sending little waves of passion throughout