by Terry Spear
The ski lodge featured a large deck, offering dining for skiers who wanted to grab an appetizer, a drink, or a meal before they hit the slopes, and they had indoor dining too. A lot of folks came there on dates, not just to ski.
The Wolff brothers had downplayed their competitive nature, so this past Christmas, they hadn’t participated in any of the competitions—snowmen or snow sculptures, gingerbread houses, even Christmas lighting. They’d decorated the whole lodge in lights, of course, but they hadn’t entered their place in the competitions. Except for getting their business off the ground and making it a profitable venture, they hadn’t had time for a whole lot of anything else.
“Looks like I’ve got some business to take care of.” Landon frowned, his gaze focused on someone behind Blake who he could hear was fast approaching. From the sound of the ski boots on the tile floor, he thought the person was female. “You go ski, and when you’re done, I’ll take a few runs down the slope.”
Blake glanced back and saw the pretty blond he’d noticed observing him and Rosco during the avalanche training. She was headed straight for them, her expression intense, brows furrowed, her gaze shifting from Landon to Blake. He smelled a whiff of her scent—fresh air and she-wolf. No wonder his brother was eager to assist her. At the same time, Blake was a little embarrassed that the woman approaching had witnessed him struggling with the snowblower. Good thing she hadn’t seen him with an out-of-control Saint Bernard even earlier.
Blake smiled. “I can hang around for a moment and take care of whatever issues she’s having.”
“No, that’s okay, Blake. The sooner you ski, the sooner I get to.”
Blake knew that wasn’t the only reason his brother wanted to take care of the woman’s concerns. Landon had recognized she was a wolf too.
When she drew closer to them, she targeted Blake, and he was eager to be the one to handle whatever was upsetting her. Happily. Conflict didn’t bother him or his brother. It was a chance to prove they could resolve any issues that arose at the lodge with the least amount of fuss. When he caught another whiff of her wolfish scent, that made him even more eager to help her. Though he reminded himself she could have a mate or a potential one.
She smiled brightly at Blake, her cheeks and the tip of her nose rosy from the cold. She was wearing a white parka, the furry hood down; a light-pink-and-white ski hat, dickey, and gloves; and light-pink formfitting ski pants and white ski boots, looking as if she’d just came off the slopes. She reminded him of cotton candy and snow bunnies, innocent and sweet.
When she reached Blake, she threw her arms around him in a hug, startling him. He smiled down at her, amused at where this was going. Since he was single, he didn’t have to worry about a mate throwing a fit. If he had, all she’d have to do was smell this woman all over him, and he would have been in the doghouse. As long as the woman hugging him didn’t have a mate either. Then again, wolves mated for life, so she probably wouldn’t act this way if she were mated or courting another wolf. She could smell that he didn’t have a she-wolf’s scent on him either. Not until now.
He was surprised at her action. Did she think he was someone else? But she would recognize his scent, which quashed that theory. The only other thought that flashed through his mind was that she was trying to pretend she had a relationship with him because some guy was hassling her. Whatever the reason, he was all too willing to play along and take care of whoever was giving her trouble.
She kissed him, startling him even more, and his brother laughed. “It appears your day is looking up, and I think you have a handle on this.” Still chuckling, Landon walked off.
Blake was enraptured with the woman. Her lips were soft and malleable as she pressed them gently against his, but she began building up the steam, licking his mouth and then nipping and melding hers with his.
Relishing the scent of the she-wolf and the crisp, cold out-of-doors that she carried with her, Blake wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter against his body, enjoying her soft curves and warmth, building a slow fire deep inside him. They were kissing like they needed a room, he realized, not family fare in the lobby of their lodge. He very reluctantly pulled his mouth from hers and smiled. “Do I know you?”
“Took you long enough to ask.” She smiled up at him, and he wondered what he was getting himself into.
Hell, he was game.
“I’m Nicole Grayson, and you’re my fiancé. For the moment. My life depends on it.”
Blake frowned, worrying she was really in trouble, though she didn’t seem overly anxious—not in her facial expression, and certainly not in the way she’d been so easily intimate with him. “Do we need to call the sheriff?” He should have already had his phone out, but he didn’t want to let go of her if there wasn’t any need. This was just too damn nice.
“No, I’ve got a handle on this.”
He wanted to laugh at her choice of words since Landon had said the same thing about Blake. “All right, good show. By the way, I’m Blake Wolff.”
“Wolf? I’ll say.”
He smiled. He liked her easy banter and didn’t think she could be in any real danger. He would have smelled her anxiety for one thing, instead of her enticing arousal that was fueling his own. “I’d shake your hand, but I think we’re beyond that.”
“For this to be believable, yes.” She smiled up at him as if she truly adored him. “I saw all the trouble you were having with the snowblower earlier.”
“Uh, yeah.” That kind of blew his macho image, he was afraid. He had hoped she wouldn’t bring it up. “I’ve never used that kind before.”
“I kind of figured that. I haven’t either, or I would have tried to help.”
He smiled. “You watched instead.”
Her cheeks pinkened. “You were entertaining.”
“You saw everything?”
“You mean the spill you took too? Yeah, you should have seen me hit a patch of ice on the slope this morning. I was sprawled every which way.”
He chuckled, not feeling as bad now. He liked how she could make him feel better about it. “I was just going to ski. Did you want to come with me?” He thought that would be fun, if it was in line with the ruse she was playing and because they would both be dressed for it once he put on some ski boots. Besides, he hadn’t been this interested in a she-wolf since he and Susie Northrop ended things between them. She’d been so pissed off that he and his brother and sisters were moving to the “wilds” of Colorado, the Wild West, she said, that she broke it off with him a year before he left. Good thing for that.
“I just came in from out-of-doors. Take me to your room instead,” Nicole said.
He raised a brow. He hadn’t quite expected that. Then again, he hadn’t expected any of this—the hug, the kiss, now this. He wasn’t letting go of her though. “Because your life depends on it.”
“It would seem more realistic. If we’re lovers. And we can talk.”
None of this seemed real to Blake. Well, the kiss sure did, but the rest? No.
He rubbed her arm, his other arm still keeping her locked against his body. His was hot and aroused, to be sure. He couldn’t believe how much he didn’t want to let her go. Then again, she was the one who had tackled him first.
He glanced around the lobby, looking to see if anyone was eyeing them with speculation. Their guests all seemed to be enjoying visiting with friends or were on their way somewhere—to the restaurant, restrooms, seating by the big center fireplace, out-of-doors to ski, or to their rooms. “Okay, we have a little problem with going to ‘my’ room.”
“Don’t tell me your roommate won’t go along with it.” She sighed.
“I’m not staying here.”
“Okay, you can come to my room. But my partner has high-altitude sickness and might be sleeping.”
“Partner. Male?” As in a real boyfriend? That could be a
wkward. Then again, he couldn’t be, since Blake didn’t smell a male’s scent on her except his own. Blake hadn’t met her before, but he was definitely showing any other eligible wolf bachelors here that he had a real interest in her. Was she was part of the Silver Town pack, and he just hadn’t met her yet? He didn’t think so, or she wouldn’t be staying at the lodge.
“Yes, he’s a he. So you live in Silver Town? And are just up here for the day skiing?”
“I’m part owner of the ski lodge and restaurant, along with my brother and two sisters.” He normally wouldn’t have mentioned that to a she-wolf he’d just met who wasn’t a member of the pack, feeling like it was bragging a little.
Her brows rose this time. “Oh, Wolff as in two f’s. Okay, this won’t do. I need to find somebody else.” She started to pull away from him.
He held on tight. “No. Wait.”
She smiled up at him again. Then she frowned. “I shouldn’t involve you. You seem like a nice guy.”
“I’m already involved. And I can be a not-so-nice guy if you need me to. Ask my brother and sisters.”
She chuckled, but then she grew serious again. “Okay, here the two men come. Make this look good. You can be my lover, and Larry is my brother.”
“Larry, as in your partner?”
“Yes.” She didn’t give Blake a chance to ask any more questions as she kissed him again.
She didn’t smell like she’d been around another male, so he didn’t think the guy was really her partner as in mated. Instead, Nicole was wearing Blake’s scent and he was cloaked in her sweet fragrance, making it seem, to other wolves, that they were together.
Blake had every intention of making it look real, but he wanted to see who she was worried about. He wanted to ask her who she was, who her “partner” was.
For now, he concentrated on the workout they were having, his mouth pressed hungrily against hers, and that was not faked in the least. She kissed him back just as greedily, her olive-green eyes feral as she gazed up at him, and then closed them again to concentrate on the kiss.
He could feel her pulling her mouth away finally, and he reluctantly went along with the plan. Her cheeks were flushed with heat, her gaze still on his mouth, as if she was thinking of kissing him again.
He smiled. She was hot and interesting, and he could have kissed her all day long.
She sighed. “Let’s go.”
Blake glanced back to see if his brother was busy working. Landon was standing near the fireplace, arms folded across his chest, watching them, smiling. Which was normal for a family member and a wolf who was curious how this would play out.
“Wow, we leave you guys alone for a couple of months, and what do we come home to?” Blake’s sister Roxie asked. He turned to see her and their sister Kayla openmouthed and staring at him in surprise.
You Had Me at Wolf
On sale February 2020
Acknowledgments
Thanks so much to Donna Fournier, Dottie Jones, and Darla Taylor for beta reading this book! All their comments were so helpful and much appreciated. And thanks to Bonnie Gill and Cheryl Amer for Christmas present ideas. Thanks to Deb Werksman for all her wisdom and loving the books! And to the wonderful cover designs that readers want to take to bed with them.
About the Author
Bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written over sixty paranormal romance novels and four medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Spring, Texas, where she is working on her next wolf, jaguar, cougar, and bear shifter romances, continuing with her Highland medieval romances, and having fun with her young adult novels. When she’s not writing, she’s photographing everything that catches her eye, making teddy bears, and playing with her Havanese puppies and grandbaby.
Connect online:
terryspear.com
Twitter | Facebook
terryspear.wordpress.com
Also by Terry Spear
SEAL Wolf
A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing
A SEAL Wolf Christmas
SEAL Wolf Hunting
SEAL Wolf in Too Deep
SEAL Wolf Undercover
SEAL Wolf Surrender
Heart of the Shifter
You Had Me at Jaguar
Billionaire Wolf
Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing
A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas
Silver Town Wolf
Destiny of the Wolf
Wolf Fever
Dreaming of the Wolf
Silence of the Wolf
A Silver Wolf Christmas
Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply
Between a Wolf and a Hard Place
All’s Fair in Love and Wolf
Heart of the Jaguar
Savage Hunger
Jaguar Fever
Jaguar Hunt
Jaguar Pride
A Very Jaguar Christmas
Highland Wolf
Heart of the Highland Wolf
A Howl for a Highlander
A Highland Werewolf Wedding
Hero of a Highland Wolf
A Highland Wolf Christmas
White Wolf
Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas
Flight of the White Wolf
Heart of the Wolf
Heart of the Wolf
To Tempt the Wolf
Legend of the White Wolf
Seduced by the Wolf
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