Yielding to the Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) (2 page)

CHAPTER THREE

Jerome’s room was indeed very close by. A little over five minutes and they were approaching the unassuming looking building where he apparently lived. She supposed the older students who lived on campus got assigned to different blocks, away from the freshmen. Still, she was quite eager to see his room now.

He pulled ahead as they approached the main door, looking for his keys in the light of the headlamp over the door. She took in the sight of her would-be rescuer again. She wondered if he played any sport, he certainly looked quite athletic, and suddenly felt embarrassed that she hadn’t asked about him at all. She hoped he didn’t think she was rude. Her eyes travelled up and down his tall frame unthinkingly, taking in his muscular build. He really was very good looking. He just didn’t feel the need to flaunt it with arrogance.

Jerome bolted upright, looking around him. Again he almost seemed to be sniffing the air, and fixed on Sharon with an odd look. Did he catch her looking?

“You okay, Sharon?”

“Yes,” she replied, thoroughly confused. Jerome looked very briefly agitated, before shrugging and heading inside. That was strange.

“Let’s go up.”

Sharon was so relieved to be inside, where it wasn’t quite so unrelentingly cold that she barely took in Jerome’s building. A flight of stairs later they were standing in front of his door and Sharon suddenly felt rather awkward. Jerome opened it up and motioned for her to go first, smiling as he held the door ajar.

The room wasn’t what she was expecting at all, though she wasn’t sure what she
had
been expecting. Jerome’s room was quite big and spacious, but there wasn’t much in it. It had a slightly unused feel. There was a big bed in the corner, a computer desk on the other side, and a few shelves. But nothing, well, nothing very student. No posters, no
mess
. It looked like it belonged to someone older.

“It’s really nice,” said Sharon breathlessly. Jerome turned on the computer and smiled.

“Most people think it looks a bit bleak,” he said, “but I’ll take it.” He wheeled his chair to the computer. “You can take a seat if you like, I won’t charge you,” he added when he saw that Sharon was still standing awkwardly. She perched herself on the edge of the bed--the only thing resembling a second seat in the room.

It was great being inside, but she couldn’t exactly call this ‘warm.’ She still hadn’t taken off Jerome’s coat--did he not mind living in a room this cold?

“So." Jerome said. "Crawford block right?”

“Yes!”

“OK,” he fixated intently on the digital map in front of him. “Well it’s probably going to be on the East side, I know that’s where Opal and Westwood halls are, and they’re the main girls’ dorms. But then I know the Pryce building is over here, and they’re mostly for girls.”

“You certainly seem to know a lot about girls’ dormitories,” she joked.

Jerome gave an oddly coy smile. “Well, I’ve spent a lot of time in them.”

Sharon was a little thrown by that--she’d mentioned it as a joke! “Oh..?”

“I’ve never really had any problems on the girl front." He shrugged. “Let’s just say I’ve seen the insides of most of these dorms pretty thoroughly.” He grinned his ridiculously appealing grin. Coming from anyone else that would have sounded revoltingly arrogant, but Jerome was just so casual about it that it was almost endearing.

Sharon didn’t know
why
she was so surprised. Jerome was very good looking. He just didn’t seem the type. Suddenly the image of Jerome naked, having sex, flitted across her mind. She actually blushed--where had
that
come from? She couldn’t control her imagination; for a fleeting instant she saw herself having sex with Jerome.
Don’t be so filthy
, she scolded herself. She had to look away from him.

Jerome chose that moment to get to his feet again. Had he found out where her dorm was? She was suddenly eager to get home before she made a fool of herself.

“I guess,” he began, looking oddly restless, “the reason I’ve always done well with the ladies is because I always know when a girl is turned on by me.”

Sharon stared at him. What did he mean by
that
?

“Most people waste so much time chasing people who have no interest them, but I don’t need to bother. I can always tell when a girl is into me.”

“I see…” What was she supposed to say that? He was staring intently at her, smiling knowingly. Did he know what she’d just been thinking? That would be absurd…

“You, for example Sharon. I know you’ve been thinking less than pure thoughts about me.”
Oh shit
.

“W-what? No I-”

“It’s OK, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I can smell it. When I was opening the door downstairs I could feel you looking at me. And I mean ‘
looking
.’ And just now, I don’t know what you were thinking but it must have been pretty dirty.” He was pacing now, no longer calm and collected at all.

“Stop it!” she jumped to her feet. Not Jerome, he was different, he couldn’t
be
like this. “You’re wrong, I wasn’t thinking anything dirty,” she lied, “and besides you can’t smell things like that, you’re not a... a cat.”

“No I’m not a cat. I'm a werewolf.” He let that ridiculous statement hang in the air for a second. “And werewolves can smell exactly when girls are feeling horny.”

Sharon never felt so humiliated. Obviously this was some stupid practical joke. She supposed she was meant to go running off screaming about how she’d seen a werewolf so everyone could make fun of her.

“I’m not stupid!” she shouted, throwing his coat on the floor. “Do you tell all the girls you’re a werewolf? Is it supposed to be sexy, or cool or--” Jerome silenced her with a look. He stopped the pacing he had been doing since he stood up and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. His chest was well toned, and quite hairy. “You can button that back up Jerome, it’ll take more than a hairy chest to make me believe you’re a wer--oh
!
”

Jerome stepped in front of the window and the result was unlike anything Sharon had seen before. The light of the moon was streaming in behind him, lighting him from behind. It seemed to play tricks with her, casting his features in a strange, ethereal way. His calm gray eyes took on an eerily animalistic look, and his characteristically impressive smile looked more like the snarl of some beast than anything she’d ever seen on a person. His whole posture seemed changed, more bestial, more aggressive. He still looked like Jerome, but he
felt
wildly different. It was almost terrifying.

And then he stepped away, the moment passed, and Jerome was back, smiling nonchalantly.

“H-how- how did you-”

“I told you. I’m a werewolf.”

“But- but
you have a computer
!”

Jerome laughed. If she wasn’t so shaken at what she had just seen she probably would have laughed too, she reflected. What an absurd reaction to finding out someone was half man half beast.

“Yes Sharon, I’m still a student, I have a computer. I admit I don’t use it much at the full moon, but I’d get bored for the rest of the month without it.” How could he be so casual about the whole thing? And how did she end up in a
werewolf
’s bedroom on her first day of college. This had to be some kind of weird hallucination, or dream, or… something. She just had to get out of there.

“Look I’m sorry I’m going to g-go Jerome.” She bolted for the door like she was his prey that had just worked up the courage to move. But in a blur he was in front of her and she ran into him. He slid his arms around her yet she did nothing to back away…

“If you like. But I told you, Sharon, I can smell arousal. I
know
you’re curious. It would be a shame if you left now.” She looked up into his fixated, gray eyes. Their bodies were pressed together; his arms were wrapped around her waist, and hers were pressed against his still bare chest. She was shaking, but this was somehow so much different from when the guy had grabbed her at the party. This was Jerome.

And then he was kissing her. ‘My first kiss is with a werewolf’ was her last coherent thought before she found herself melting into him, giving in to him and kissing him back as hard as she could. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled him even closer to her unthinkingly, uncaring. For that moment she no longer cared about being respectable or about what he would think of her--all that mattered to her was the feel of his hands touching her, the feel of his tongue invading her open mouth. It was all so new, and so electrifying.

As she lost herself more and more in Jerome, he started caressing her more and more vigorously, pressing his lips against hers like a vice. His hands were groping and kneading her ass. She’d never been touched there properly by anyone else, certainly not like this, and it was such a confusing feeling. It felt dirty, and it felt
good
.

Suddenly he broke off the kiss and started kissing her neck just as furiously, breathing heavily and grabbing her even more tightly. Sharon closed her eyes and let out an involuntary moan. She remembered watching Katy in the same position, and thinking her a slut.
Am I any better then
, asked what was left of her self-control. If she’d known it felt this good…

Then before she knew what was happening, Jerome had grabbed the hem of her dress and was hiking it up--past her thighs, then her waist, then her stomach.
What was he doing
? She tried to stop him but she was pressed too tightly against him. All her lust seemed to evaporate as it became clear Jerome was ignoring her, still kissing and nibbling at her neck. With one hand he pulled her dress up past her chest, and with the other he started fumbling at her bra strap.
No!

She did the only thing she could. She wriggled down out of his remaining arm, abandoning the dress in the process but at least managing to escape him. Jerome gave a frustrated grunt and grabbed for her bra again. He was too strong and tore it instead. Sharon was able to stumble away from him and collapse onto the bed, abandoning the dress and the torn bra.

I’m naked! I’m naked! Oh God he can see me naked!
It wasn’t quite true, she still had her panties on, but it was more naked than she’d ever been in the presence of someone else. She covered her exposed breasts with both hands and backed up against the wall.
I’m not a slut, I’m not!

Jerome looked completely different now. He was breathing heavily, his nostrils were flared and there was a hungry, animalistic look in his eyes. This was a transformation just as intense as the bizarre light trick she had witnessed before. Again though, it seemed to last only a short time, and a more human expression returned.

“Sharon…” For a moment he was uncertain, as though he couldn’t quite believe what he had just done. But with every second that his gaze was fixed on Sharon, huddled half-naked on his bed, he grew ever more pressing.

“I didn’t mean to scare you Sharon,” he panted. “I can’t help it. The scent of arousal… does something to me. I can’t control it.” He was creeping toward her now at an uneven pace, as though fighting some inner voice trying to hold him back. “And what I felt just then,
that
was more powerful than anything I’ve felt for a long time.” He took another step toward her. “You must want it bad.”

“I don’t!” she protested. Was that true?
Of course it’s not true! I’ve only just met him! And he’s a werewolf!
She looked him up and down again. She noticed for the first time that his shirt was completely unbuttoned apart from one button. She briefly wondered when he’d managed to do that, before realizing that
she’d
done it when they were kissing. The memory was such a haze. She’d wanted it then…

“That isn’t true,” he retorted calmly, looking down at his chest also. He undid the last button and threw his shirt aside, leaving him naked from the waist up. Sharon tried to avoid staring at his chiseled torso.