"Good morning Sunshine. Rise and shine."

I heard a voice. The voice of Ruth, my family's oldest employee. Now when I say employee, she's always been more like my mother to me and my brother—more than our 'actual' mother, Elaine. Who as we speak is somewhere in the Bahamas living off Dad's inheritance. With her current toy-boy flavour of the month, topping up her tan on her newly re-modelled plastic body.

Couldn't say I missed her—never was much of a mother. What the fuck my father saw in her was beyond me.

So, it was fair to say Ruth meant a lot to me and she's one of the few people whose opinion mattered. And I let her talk to me like no other fucker would dare to. But only because she's a bat-shit crazy old person who ran my house, nagged the fucking life out of me, and because she cared.

Honestly, she should have retired years ago but had taken it upon herself to stay until as she puts it. 'I find myself a respectable woman and settled down.'

Yeah, right—like that was gonna happen anytime soon.

Opening my eyes at the same moment Ruth opened the shutters, was a really bad idea. Grabbing the pillow, I crushed it into my face. "Fuckin' hell Ruth, Give me a second to come around, yeah?"

She tutted loudly. "Aren't we the grumpy one? Tell you what Mr Grumpy, how about we do a deal. I wake you up like the little princess you are—all gentle like. And you grow up and stop all this drinking and staying out till all hours of the night."

The sarcasm dripped from her tongue... but she wasn't done yet. No, she was just getting started.

"Should have seen the state of you last night. James had to help get your sorry back-side up the stairs and I had to undress you again!" She tutted again to emphasise and to grind the point home. Before she carried on fucking nagging me.

"You're not a teenager anymore Hunter. You're a grown man with responsibilities. You should be out finding yourself a good woman to settle down with and give me some babies to look after, you listening?"

Here it comes...

"And your poor father would turn in his grave if he saw you still behaving like this. You're better than this Hunter."

My head was banging as I pushed the pillow from my face. "Give it a rest Ruth, it's too fucking early, and I need some paracetamol. Be a darlin' and run and get me some."

She huffed and puffed as she muttered something else I didn't hear—or didn't want to hear and left me in peace for a few minutes.

I let out a groan running my tongue around my fury mouth. It tasted like wolf's arse.

What the fuck was I drinking last night?

Glancing at the clock; I'd roughly had about four hours kip. I tried to piece together last night. My stomach sank, sinking faster than a discharged anchor. Memories came flooding back with a side order of regret. Fucking hell!

I'd gone to the club and drank too much again...but that wasn't the worst part.

Yesterday, after I'd finished my meetings for the day; earlier than expected. I decided I couldn't head back to the office, because I needed to avoid her. As I'd stupidly left a note, signing it off with a kiss.

A. Fucking. Kiss!

So, I headed to the gym and knocked ten tons of shit out of a punching bag to get her out of my head. And try to rid myself of the strange feelings swimming around my gut. A feeling that I couldn't shift since I laid eyes on her—Miss Sage Dufrene.

But it didn't work. No. It got worse. So, it left me with little option but to head to my usual club and distract myself in other ways.

Since meeting her yesterday, I hadn't gone five minutes without thinking about her. Thinking about what I wanted to do to her, what I wanted her to do to me. Her perfect mouth and the things I'd make her say with that French accent of hers.

At the club, I'd bumped into a few old mates of my brothers and after a couple of drinks and some banter about the trouble we got into when we were kids. We decided a few rounds of poker sounded good.

The drinking continued and I was on a winning streak —up by seventy grand. And after a few more shots I was starting to feel pretty fucking good.

So good in fact that I'd extended not thinking about her to... roughly seven minutes. And the curvy redhead bringing our drinks looked pretty tempting.

Add to that she had been giving me the eye since I arrived and pressing her ample assets into my arm, every time she served our drinks.

I was onto a sure thing.

And, if anything could get her out of my head and shift the strangeness. Then I was sure it would be finding someone else to fuck—and fuck her out of my system.

Yeah, that would do it. Right?

I gave Jim, the owner the usual nod, and he let me use his back office. We'd known each other for years. Him and my dad went way back and I'd recently sorted out a problem with a rogue wolf and his only daughter. So it was fair to say he didn't give a shit that I routinely fucked - then pissed off his new staff (by never calling them back afterwards.)

Shutting the door behind us, Red was on me like a rash. Her hands undid my shirt buttons and her tongue was playing with my tonsils. I popped the buttons on her top, sliding my hand inside, roughly rubbing her nipples through a very nice lace bra.

As I walked us backwards—expertly undoing her bra. I felt the sofa behind me. Letting myself fall I slid my hand up her thighs, bunching her skirt up around her arse. I pushed her legs apart and pulled her on top of me, so she was straddling me.

Pulling her head down, my fingers tangled themselves in her hair and my mouth was on hers again. It was at that moment that I almost paused—as I realised my dick should be hard by now.

But it's not.

He was as limp as day-old lettuce. And all I saw was Sage Dufrene's perfect face and those big beautiful blue eyes staring at me behind my closed eyes.

Bollocks. My dick was having none of it and my wolf wasn't helping by growling and kicking up a right storm.

Fuck this shit. I needed to change this up and fast. So instead I imagined it was her straddling me and... Hallelujah! Something stirred...or should I say hardened.

So, Red rubbed her underwear-covered pussy against the fabric of my pants and the welcome hardness of my dick was now straining to get out of my pants.

Red pulled back slightly. "I need you inside me, babe," I heard her say in an Essex accent.

Bubble burst. Fuck!

I couldn't have her ruin the moment with that voice.—her screechy accent. "No talking darlin' yeah?" I said. Not giving a shit that I sounded a little pissed off with her.

Back to business. I roughly pulled Red's mouth onto mine and I closed my eyes to get my head in the game and returned to visualising it was her rubbing up against my dick.

She reached for the buckle of my pants and I heard the clinking of metal and my zipper going down.

And would you believe it? Red got it stuck halfway.

What's the fucking odds?

"It's stuck," she said.

"What did I say about not talking —yeah?" I stupidly opened my eyes to face Red. Now don't get me wrong - Red was a looker. She was roughly twenty-three years old and had a body that most men would beg for.

And with her flushed cheeks; swollen red wet lips wet and a nice pair of tits about four inches from my face —I should be hammering this one home.

But I wasn't.

I was sitting here with my pants refusing to open and listening to her goddamn Essex accent.

Well, my dick decided it was game over and retreated home—faster than shit off a shovel.

What the fuck? Never in all my... well Christ knows how many years. He had never refused to perform his duties.

But he decided—it was her or nothing. Could this get any worse?

I then listened to my wolf whining and growling. It appeared he was of the same opinion.

Jesus fukin' aged Christ.

I lifted Red from me and believe me, she didn't look happy as she yanked down her skirt before putting her top back on. She threw daggers with a look that could kill.

I made some weak-arsed excuse that I had to make an important phone call and ushered her out of the room.

What a wanker!

My wolf was still giving me shit and wanted to head out and find her. And it took all my strength not to ring my contact at the Met Police and find out every sordid detail about her—like where she lived for a start and go stalk her.

Thank fuck I came to my senses and instead I headed back downstairs and drank myself into a coma and Christ knows how I got home.

Sighing loudly, I threw the covers from my naked body to see my erection in full glory.

Yeah, why couldn't you be like that last night mate... yeah?

Ruth chose that moment to return. But was oblivious to my state of undress or my erection and continued to mutter something about 'growing up.'

Sitting up I threw my legs over the side of the bed, grabbing a pillow to cover my friend. I took the water and painkillers from her and popped the pills in my mouth followed by a large gulp of water.

Ruth tutted loudly and took the glass from me.

Ignoring her ramblings and stern glare. I stretched out my tired body and realised she might have a point about me laying off the alcohol for a while.

I pushed myself up from the bed and leaned down, kissing her on the cheek. "Why would I need a woman, when I have you, Ruth?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Get away, charmer." A smile escaped her pursed lips. "You do realize, even I won't put up with your shit forever."

"Oh, but I think you will," I said with a smirk as I dragged my naked arse to the bathroom, listening to her mumbling behind me.

Opening the glass door I stepped into the shower, toes curling as they touched the chilled tiled floor. My head thumped as I flicked the lever to release thousands of tiny bombs bursting on my skin. The iciness of the water thundered over my head and down my aching body.

It felt pretty damn good. I also hoped it might wash some sense into me.

As the water heated and steam began to rise. I started to wash off last night.

My mind drifted and her face with that beautiful smile of hers pulled at my thoughts. My hand slipped down to my dick and as I moved my hand over it, cleaning him. I gripped him a little harder, imagining it was her hand... no, it was her mouth, that perfect mouth.

Stroking myself, keeping the pace slow. I imagined all the depraved things, I wanted to do her. Tightening my grip, up and down a little faster. I heard her voice in my head. My breathing was shallow and quick as I used my other hand to support myself on the wall. I was getting close.

"Fuck, yes, yes." And as I heard her utter the words in my head, 'Oui, Hunter.' I exploded onto the wall in front of me.

Fuckin' hell. I needed to do something about this.

>>

A couple of hours later I was sitting in my office, looking at my watch. 8.55 am stared back.

Shit! She would be here any minute. Time to sort this out.

I had a plan. Me, my wolf and my dick had decided. She would be ours.

She just didn't know it yet!