Read Online The Strip by Heather Killough-Walden, Gildart Jackson - Free Book Online

defenses were up. He wondered why. She was certainly beautiful enough to have attracted all manner of dangerous scum in her life, and he could understand that such a penchant would cause her to be cautious toward men. But they were sitting in a crowded club with a good ratio of very large bouncers. It wasn’t just the fact that he was a man that was scaring her.
    It was him, specifically.
    He took a seat and studied her carefully. She blushed beneath his scrutiny.
    “I’m… I’m sorry,” she said, peek in her cheeks darkening a little more. “It’s just that you look very familiar to me.”
    The waitress came with their drinks and Claire immediately grabbed hers and took a long, deep pull. Cole watched the smooth column of her throat as she swallowed the liquid. She didn’t put it back down until it was half empty.
    Now she smiled.
    His breath caught, his gums aching where his fangs wanted to break free. He felt himself begin to harden and he had to reign his wolf in, forcing it to heel when all it wanted to do was hunt down its mate and fuck her like there was no tomorrow.
    Her tongue darted out for a fraction of a second to lick the moisture off of her top lip. Malcolm’s vision began to swim with tiny stars. He felt a change coming on; he was losing control. He’d never – ever – lost control before. What was happening to him? Why did she have this effect on him?
    He decided he needed to touch her. Like a moth to a flame.
    When she released her bottle, he offered her his hand. “I’m Malcolm.” He smiled his best disarming smile and sensed her arousal growing stronger. In his mind, he was swearing vehemently. There was no way in hell he was going to make it through the night without tasting her.
    She gently placed her own hand within his and he wrapped his fingers around her, his touch light, but possessive. He couldn’t help it. He was a wolf.
    “I’m Claire,” she said. “But my friends call me Charlie.” She blinked then, as if she couldn’t understand why she’d just told him that. After all, he wasn’t a friend. She’d only just met him.
    Hope began to flare within him, a match struck in a night that had been too dark for far too long. “Charlie,” he said softly. He could swear he saw her muscles relax as he said her name. And it was having the opposite effect on him. He wanted to jump her bones. Instead, he sat back and took a long pull on his own beer. Beer had no effect on him, but she would run for her life if he began downing entire bottles of Everclear in front of her. At least it was wet and cold. That helped a little.
    “So, Malcolm….” She let the name linger on her tongue, as if trying it out.
    Malcolm swallowed hard. Christ.
    “Are you in town for business or pleasure?”
    “Honestly?” He put his beer down and lazily turned it between his thumb and forefinger. “Both.”
    She nodded. That was everyone’s answer when it came to Las Vegas. He could scent the alcohol in her blood now – just beginning to work its magic.
    She took another drink and he waited. When she finished, he asked, “And you?”
    She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, a little harder than she perhaps should have. He imagined that her senses were dulling as a result of the beer. One kiss , he thought, and I can bring them roaring back to life.
    “As cheesy as it sounds, I’m a drummer,” she admitted to him, shrugging as she said it. “And my band just got this… deal.” She frowned. “We’re playing at that casino down the street – the really tall one.”
    “The August,” he supplied easily.
    “That’s the one,” she said.
    “So, what kind of music do you play?”
    “Everything,” she said. “Whatever the crowd’s in the mood for, really.”
    He continued to study her, taking everything in as she finished off her beer and he raised his hand to summon the waitress. Across from him, Claire chewed on her lip again, her expression at once nervous.
    “I’m not sure that’s a