Novels by J.U. Faruck

I spent the rest of the day organizing my stuff. The rest of the pack left me alone, by some blessed miracle, though Teagan sent me half a dozen texts checking to make sure I didn’t want to go to graduation. After the sixth time, I assured her that I would rather rip my fingernails off, and she got the message.When I’d finished putting away the last of my things, I glanced at the time on my phone and grimaced.Graduation was starting.It felt weird not to be there, even if I didn’t necessarily want to be. Whether it was my anxiety or just my issues, I felt sort of guilty about ditching out.“What do you say we head out and grab some sheets for my bed, and some ice cream?” I asked Rocky, scratching his head.He was a surprisingly good companion, following me around and licking me an insane number of times, snorting at my stupid jokes, and giving me his wolfy grin whenever I teased him.Though he wasn’t any

Zed shut the door behind us unceremoniously, but I wasn’t nervous about being alone with him. Wolf-Rocco had already agreed to eat anyone who tried to mess with me.“Here.” Zed handed me the impact driver. I took it and was surprised by the weight. That thing was heavier than it looked.“Thanks.” I followed him to the bed frame that looked like it was pretty much already put together. The gray wood headboard would cover part of the wall, then stretch under the bed and around to the front of it. It was pretty, and the mattress would be massive compared to the twin I was used to sleeping on. I’d had my room for three of my four years in college, but if I wanted a bigger mattress I would’ve had to pay for it myself, and that wasn’t in the budget in any way, shape, or form.“You just fit it into the screw and pull the trigger back. It’ll turn on, and screw it in.” Zed gestured to a few screws that had

Zed came walking up to the open door, his tool bag dangling from his fingers. He nodded toward me, not bothering with a friendly smile. I appreciated the neutrality, honestly.“How much shit do we have to build?” he checked.“A lot,” I admitted.“Good. Elliot needs to take his anger out on some screws.” Zed patted Elliot’s shoulder.I snorted as Elliot gave his buddy a lighthearted shove. I’d only known Elliot for a few hours and could already tell that he didn’t have a damned ounce of anger inside his gigantic body.“I’ll start in Rocco’s room, you take the spare?” Elliot asked Zed, as the two men headed up the stairs without so much as a backward glance. They were treating me normally, and it meant a hell of a lot to me.“Alright. I’m sending the wolf your way if he attacks me for her room smelling like me, though,” Zed grunted.I felt infinitely better as the guys vanished up the stairs, leaving me without making me uncomfortable a

“Yep.”I nodded. “From what I’ve gathered, he’s got zero interest in anything to do with all of this.” I gestured to my body.“That’s weird.” Dax headed up the stairs. Rather than following him and staring at his ass while Rocco growled at me, I leaned up against the couch, scratching the wolf’s head while I waited for the other guy to return.He came back down the stairs empty-handed but still frowning. “He’s been having a rough time, but I wouldn’t have thought he’d go this far.”I shrugged, eyes on the wolf as Dax grabbed another, larger box without a problem. “Doesn’t seem like a stretch to think he’d want to just be friends with his mate.”Dax shook his head as he started back up the stairs. “You don’t understand,” he told me, then disappeared for a moment. He continued as he came back down. “A werewolf waits for hi

I was sweating balls by the time I finally got all of my shit up to the room that was going to be mine, and was wheezing like I was dying, too. The last thing I wanted to do was walk back down the stairs to grab Rocco’s clothes, so I took a break by hanging my shirts up in the closet. There were already about two hundred hangers packed into that thing, and while I only had enough tops to fit ten percent of those hangers, I did appreciate the thoughtfulness human Rocco seemed to have put into preparing the space for me.While I hung shit, my mind went back to the tampons and floral shampoo.Were those for me too?When I asked Wolf-Rocco, he confirmed my suspicion. And honestly, I was kind of touched.Human-Rocco might have been grumpy at the party, and he might have had less than zero interest in looking at me or sharing a bed with me, but he had still gotten his house ready for me. He’d made sure I wouldn’t run out of toilet paper, or ta

Zed came walking up to the open door, his tool bag dangling from his fingers. He nodded toward me, not bothering with a friendly smile. I appreciated the neutrality, honestly.“How much shit do we have to build?” he checked.“A lot,” I admitted.“Good. Elliot needs to take his anger out on some screws.” Zed patted Elliot’s shoulder.I snorted as Elliot gave his buddy a lighthearted shove. I’d only known Elliot for a few hours and could already tell that he didn’t have a damned ounce of anger inside his gigantic body.“I’ll start in Rocco’s room, you take the spare?” Elliot asked Zed, as the two men headed up the stairs without so much as a backward glance. They were treating me normally, and it meant a hell of a lot to me.“Alright. I’m sending the wolf your way if he attacks me for her room smelling like me, though,” Zed grunted.I felt in

Gretchen’s [POV]I had just finished cooking breakfast the next morning when there was a knock on the door. I smiled a little to myself and wiped my hands off on a dishtowel, going to answer the door. The smell of greasy meat and cinnamon filled the air. It was a good scent. One that calmed me and left me feeling like there was no place quite as great as home.I opened the door to find Mina standing outside with a big smile on her pretty face.“Hey girl, get in here,” I said, hugging Mina.“Hey,” Mina said, returning the hug. “Thanks for inviting me over for breakfast. I just have nothing in the house at the moment. Except for pineapple! I always have pineapple, and I’m happy to share. I’ve tried just about every recipe known to man with the fruit.”I laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine that must get old after a while. Come on in. I have to get to work by ten for an appointment, so I don't have a ton of time, but we can at least chat a little.”“I can't believe you have work even on the wee

Christian’s [POV] I would never understand why the other Sunshine Real Estate owners seemed to always schedule meetings on Friday afternoons. Granted, most of them had wives and suburban lifestyles, so it was possible that they just really didn't want to get home to that. It wasn't like we ever really got anything done on Friday afternoons anyway, though. Everyone was always too tired from the rest of the week, and anyway, it wasn't like there were that many people who came to the office to look for houses at the end of the week. I drummed my fingers against the arm of my chair, making sure to hide the movement under the table so that the rest of them did n't see. I knew that George already disliked me and didn't think that I was fit to be a co-owner of the company. There wasn't much that they could do about it unless they wanted to dissolve the entire company and cease to call themselves Sunshine, which would be a pretty stupid move for them given all the work we'd put into bui

Gretchen’s [POV]I took a deep breath of the morning air and let it out slowly. It had rained a little the night before, and the beach looked practically pristine, with all evidence of people washed away. Granted, the beach tended to never look the same from day to day. And I should know. I'd had my shop here on this little stretch of beach for a few years now, and I was out here every morning, before my first client came, with a cup of coffee. I loved having that little routine to start my day, to give me a moment to just breathe in the place and relax.I could never imagine leaving Hawaii. This place had always been home. I smiled a little, thinking of how lucky I was to live in paradise, but I was startled out of my thoughts by someone calling my name.I turned and saw Mina dropping off some trash out back from her pineapple shop next door, and I smiled even wider, hopping off the back porch of my building and going over to meet her.“Morning, Mina,” I greeted and offered her a war

Christian’s [POV] Despite all the talk about this woman who I was supposedly seeing, I didn't even have to try to take her home that night. She would entertain me for the night, or a bit of it, for sure. The way she subtly eye-fucked me before the interview gave me full assurance. I was fucking her within an inch of her life later.I walked off stage with various members of her crew patting me on the back and shouting words of encouragement. I needed a shower, and then I was headed to find her again.Funny enough, I ran into her as I was finally coming out of my long shower. I'd done my best to scrub off the excessive makeup they'd covered me with before the interview, highlights and eyeliner, and all sorts of silly things that combined to make me look better under the harsh lighting of the studio. Finally, I felt human again. Like a man."Oh! I didn't realize you were still here," Kelly said as her eyes went a little wide. The soft smile playing at the side of her lips let me know t

Tasha’s [POV] "I know, it's just that I'm not sure Rainer is ready for such a structure. Can you imagine him going to taste cakes and pick out chair covers?" I asked. The thought made me shudder. It was enough that Rainer had agreed to come live with me in the white house overlooking the three bridges. I didn't want to push for more when we were still trying to figure out how to be happy together. "Now, I've wasted enough time as it is. I need to get these reports finished before I present everything to the board. Please hold my calls," I told Topher. He opened the door to return to his desk and was bowled back by Rainer. "Surprise!" Rainer said with a smile. "My volunteer shift at the community center ended sooner than I thought. So, I thought I'd swing by and take my lovely fiancée out to lunch." I felt like a big, wet, wool blanket dropped over me. I hadn't been joking about the reports and the presentation to the board. If my daydreaming hadn't distracted me, I could have

I thought I could handle the party without any problems, but a few minutes in the door and I was already panicking. Running into Rainer on the front steps had felt like the keys turning in the ignition of a car I wasn't driving. My heart raced along, my eyes sweeping the crowd to see him, and I couldn't believe I was so quickly out of control. It wasn't as if I hadn't seen Rainer in the last few weeks. He seemed to pop up everywhere, and I had gotten used to the sudden moments we shared. Once I caught sight of his fancy sports car at the little hotel in my hometown. I could have passed without seeing him, but I peeked in the windows and saw him sitting alone at a table. He claimed his work friend had just left. Two days later, he happened to be grabbing lunch at the same restaurant as me. When my lunch meeting fell through, we had a long meal together. I hadn't gone more than four days without seeing him, so I couldn't understand why tonight felt so different. I tried to tell