“Werewolves.” Nafarius finished for her.
“Yes, but I never believed in such things. My fascination was with the fact that most myths and legends had elements of truth to them. I would research a town’s history until I found the incident likely to have sparked such stories.”
“And now?”
Sam frowned. “Now I’m not so sure. You’re a man and obviously human. Roland could easily be a very large dog you trained to come and go at your command.”
Nafarius could see that even she was having a hard time digesting that. “You heard him speak.” Nafarius stood and looked down at her. “And are you so sure I’m human?”
Sam watched with something between horror and fascination as Nafarius slowly pulled his shirt out of his jeans. Gathering the material in his large hands he lifted his arms and let the material drop to the ground beside him. His chest was smooth, void of all hair, and covered with muscles.
His eyes locked on hers, Nafarius reached for the buttons on his jeans and pulled; one fierce tug and he was pushing them past his narrow hips.
“No.” Sam objected when she saw that he was wearing nothing underneath his jeans but it was too late. Already he stood before her completely naked. He was obviously comfortable with himself and why shouldn’t he be. He was gorgeous. His body was long and lean without an ounce of fat. His muscles rippled and flowed beneath his skin as he moved.
It took her a moment to realize that no one’s muscles should move like that. They seemed to be rearranging themselves, shifting beneath the skin and reforming. A moment later and Nafarius dropped to his hands and knees.
With his eyes still watching her his face narrowed and elongated, his hips and shoulders rolling back to form front and hindquarters while his back curved and arched. At the same time a small, stinging-like noise started to sound and Sam watched in absolute fascination as hair started to grow, covering his entire body.
Then there was silence.
Nafarius stretched, his claws making a clicking sound against the hard rocky ground and then shook himself like a big dog out of the bath. With what could only be described as a smile he sat back on his haunches and stared at her.
“Okay, so you’re not completely human.” Sam tilted her head and looked at him. Even in animal form he was beautiful. The hair covering his body had taken on more of a reddish tint and it was long and thick. Moving slowly she crawled across the clearing and knelt beside him.
Nafarius held himself completely still. He could see she was scared yet she dared to come closer. He wanted her to touch him; something deep inside of him needed the human in her to accept the animal in him. It wasn’t an emotion he allowed himself to feel often. Usually he avoided contact with humans outside of the packs but there was something about her that he longed to get near.
Slowly, her hand shaking, Sam reached out with her palm and placed it beneath his nose. She remembered once being told that if ever confronted with a strange dog always offer your hand palm up for them to sniff so that they could get use to your scent. Well, if it works with dogs it might work with a werewolf.
Nafarius lowered his head and sniffed, his senses instantly saturated with her scent. Closing his eyes, gone gold with the change, he let a low growl vibrate through his chest. Her scent was utterly feminine; she smelled of the outdoors and there lingered the scent of soap. But beneath that was her scent, a scent that he would always recognize as coming only from her.
Werewolves, in whatever form, had a distinct scent. It was the same with humans. Like DNA or fingerprints each one’s scent was uniquely their own. There were things one could do to cover or change their scent but a werewolf would always be able to catch the unique essence lingering beneath. There was no flower or fragrance to describe a person’s true scent but hers was somewhere between honey and lavender, sweet with a hint of musk.
Sam waited, her hand held perfectly still. Nafarius opened his eyes and looked at her. Slowly his mouth opened revealing a set of sharp canine teeth that would put any dog’s to shame. She was aware of the fact that he continued to watch her as his teeth parted and his long, pink tongue slipped out from between his teeth. Slowly, he licked her palm, covering his palate with the taste of her.
There was something erotic about the way his tongue played across her palm. It didn’t take long before her desire to touch him, to run her finger through his thick fur became too powerful to resist. Still holding her left hand out for him she reached up and slowly slid her fingers into the fur along his neck. It was thick but not as soft as she imagined it would be. Instead it was course like that of any animal living in the high mountains.
Nafarius shivered, his thick hair quivering as she continued to run her fingers through his fur. She had a delightful touch but it was torture at the same time. He wanted her, wanted to take her while still in animal form. He could smell the scent of her sex and his own hung hard and throbbing between his legs. He could have her; if he took her and made her one of them then she would be his. But he had seen the life that lived behind her eyes. It would be easy enough to let her go. Something told him that she would keep their secret and in fact make sure none others discovered them living among the mountains. Having decided to let her go he slowly started to move away from her.