Duncan ran in human form, leaping over a grouping of wild morel mushrooms, doing his best to avoid trampling the emerging ferns on the forest floor, brought about by the coming of spring. Ever the druid, it was in his bones to protect nature, even when in hot pursuit of evil, as he was now.
The heavy scent of rain hung in the air, and he wondered if the skies would open at any moment and begin to pour, making it harder for him to track anything.
He leapt over a small creek and came down on the soft, muddy edge, his foot sinking in partially. He kept going through the wooded area, twisting and jumping where need be because of the uneven terrain and the large number of trees, many only six inches in diameter.
There was a slight drop-off, and he cleared it with ease, noticing a pile of rubble off to his side. In an instant, his mind was taken back to the last time he’d been in the area, nearly twenty years prior. When he’d been on the hunt for the demon the first time. His search had taken him through the state park, into the caves and the surrounding landscape.
He’d found hidden areas, far from the tourist areas and designated walking paths. Spots where it was easy for something supernatural to dwell and hide from the view of others. He’d uncovered every rock, searched every section tirelessly, his commitment to finding and stopping the demon that great.
But it had all been for nothing.
He’d never found it.
His gut said the evil he was tracking was either the very demon, or associated with it. No matter, he wouldn’t let it hurt anyone else. Not on his watch and this time around, he was in the area before an attack, not playing catch-up and hunting after the fact.
As he thought back to his search from years ago, and the pile of rubble near him, the location itself stuck out in his head. Where the rubble was, once stood a dilapidated round house, which he’d later learned had been built with the hopes it would withstand tornadoes in an area prone to them. Something that had been referred to as Stewart’s Folly, a play off the name of the man who’d built it, and Seward’s Folly, which dealt with the purchase of Alaska.
It was hard to forget a large round house; that was why it stuck out so much in his mind and helped him realize where, geographically, he currently was while chasing the evil through the woods.
When he’d last been at this location, the large and admittedly odd structure had still been standing, despite its worn condition.
It was gone now.
A mark of the days gone by, of time’s toll on everything and everyone.
Himself included.
Duncan sprinted across the county road that ran out in front of the rubble and caught the scent of his cousin’s wolf. It had taken a hard left, apparently running down the road. Duncan pursued, noticing signs of the town coming up ahead.
Had the evil they were hunting gone directly for the populated area?
His chest tightened as he said a silent prayer to the triple goddess to offer protection to the innocents there.
There was no way he could handle seeing another family’s lives be torn apart by the demon.
He pushed on harder, increasing the speed of his run, trying to catch up with Liam, who was still running all out in wolf form.
The runes on Duncan’s body burned as his wolf beat at him from within, wanting to be free and running alongside its packmate—Liam’s wolf.
But Duncan didn’t dare set it free. He might not be able to cage it again if he did. There was no way he’d risk Catrina’s safety. No. He’d hunt the fucking demon and kill it once and for all.
He caught sight of Liam darting into the woods once more and pushed onward. Branches scratched his face and exposed arms but Duncan paid them no mind, his focus on the evil he could sense at a level that left no question in his mind that it was the demon from long ago.
Liam was a good deal in front of him because in wolf form, they were simply far faster than when in human form, not that their human side was normal by any means. Flat out, he’d kick a non-supernatural’s ass in a race.
Following his cousin’s scent, Duncan broke through the woods once more to find Liam there, crouched low near the county road once more, baring his teeth, looking straight ahead at the groupings of buildings. Duncan followed the wolf’s gaze, expecting to find the demon. As he stared around, he found the absence of any signs of life.
The night was still.
Empty.
Untouched.
He thrust out with his magik, letting his power coat the area in search of the evil. Again, there was nothing.
It was as if it had simply vanished.
Or had never been there to start with, he thought.
Another idea hit him. Had it all been a diversionary tactic to lure him from Catrina? To draw him through the forest, far from the bar?
No!
Worry knotted at his gut.
In a flash, Liam was standing next to Duncan in human form, naked as the day the man had been born.
Duncan cast his cousin a sideways look as Liam pulled upon his power to summon forth his tartan.
He wrapped it around his waist and took a deep breath. “I do nae smell it anymore. You?”
“No,” said Duncan, a sinking feeling coming over him. “Cousin, you do nae think this was all to draw me away from Catrina, do you? To leave her vulnerable?”
Liam tensed and turned to face Duncan slowly, his face going ashen. “I sure in the hell hope it’s nae that.”
“Aye,” said Duncan, swallowing hard. They were miles from the bar.
Putting his arms out wide, Duncan began to draw upon magiks of old. Power from long ago that wasn’t used often, and for good reason. It would alert all the supernaturals, good and bad, in the surrounding areas that he was close.
He didn’t care.
He couldn’t waste another second.
Liam sighed. “Yer planning to flash to her, aren’t you?”
“Aye,” repeated Duncan, his power dancing around him, invigorating both him and his wolf, who was still pissed about being caged.
Liam rolled his eyes. “Of course you are. Go. I’ll look around here to be sure all is well. Check on yer mate, cousin.”
With that, Duncan vanished.
Wind swirled around him as he reappeared magikally outside of the bar, near the back door. He grabbed the handle, jerked the door open, and stepped in, cloaking himself in his power to mask others from seeing him.
He spotted Catrina at once and let out a long, shaky breath.
She was safe.
She had a tray full of empty glasses and was headed in the direction of the bar, her backside sashaying perfectly as she did.
His worry for her turned quickly to desire, making his cock harden.
He groaned and adjusted himself. He was in for a long night.
Chapter Thirteen
Catrina exited the front door of what had been home as of late, tired from yet another night of bad dreams, and ran right into something massive.
Strong arms caught her, and she looked up to find Duncan there. The last she’d seen of him had been last night outside the bar, right after he’d kissed her, then told her it was a mistake, only to confess he wanted to fuck her.
And right before she’d run as quickly as she could from him, panicked at the idea of not only being fucked by him, but by how much she wanted that to be a reality.
She’d then spent the rest of the night regretting her decision on one hand, but thankful for it on the other.
Everything in her life was coming to a head. She knew as much. Knew today or tomorrow would put her face-to-face with the demon that had haunted her dreams—and apparently the restroom at the bar, since she’d imagined it there, of all places.
If she were a demon, the last place she’d hang out was the gross ladies’ room at Ralph’s bar.
Hell had to be preferable.
Somewhere she planned to send the vile creature back to very soon.
Catrina inhaled and nearly moaned at just how good Duncan smel
led. Why did the man have to show up now of all times? When she was about to go against something she wasn’t entirely sure she could defeat, and even if she did manage to send the demon packing back to the fiery pits of doom, he’d more than likely take her with him.
So why was fate setting the temptation of the Scottish hottie before her? Not once, but twice?
Wasn’t the kiss behind the bar torment enough?
Now she had to run into him when she left her apartment too?
Fate had an ironic sense of humor.
As she looked up at the Scottish hunk in question, the same raw need that had raced through her when he’d kissed her last night returned, she took a tiny step back to gather her wits about her. That was incredibly hard to do, especially with how mouthwatering the man looked.
He was in a black long-sleeved, button-up shirt. The top few buttons were undone, showing off a black undershirt and the faintest hints of dark chest hair. The jeans he wore were dark but distressed in places. They fit him perfectly. Did the man have to look so yummy?
And now that she knew what it was like to be kissed by him, she pretty much had one thing on her mind.
What it would be like to do a whole lot more with him.
His long hair was down, and his close-cut beard appeared to be freshly trimmed. She hadn’t been aware he could get hotter. Yet he’d managed.
His blue eyes held mirth. “Lass, you should be more careful to watch where it is yer going.”
She glanced at the building’s door and then back at him. “Sorry. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn’t notice you there.”
“Aye.”
Her gaze narrowed as she thought more about randomly running into him today. It was one thing to have a chance run-in with a hunk at the bar; it was an entirely different matter to bump into the same one the next day, just outside her doorway.
The odds were against it. “W-what are you doing here?”
He motioned to the diner just up the block. “I’m on my way to get some dinner. I wasn’t aware the library was open so late.”
The way he said it made her think he knew exactly what the hours of supposed operations were for the nonfunctioning library. A fleeting thought that he might have been following her entered her mind.
That was silly.
She’d have sensed him if he had been shadowing her. Then again, her senses were off, as noted by her hallucination of the demon at the dump she worked at, and by the fact she’d never sensed Bicycle-Shirt Guy getting close to her.
Try as she might, she’d not been able to get a solid night’s sleep. Not with what her gut said was going to happen this weekend, maybe even today, and her dreams being filled with the demon. Though last night’s dreams had taken an interesting turn in the sense that Bicycle Shirt Guy made an appearance in them as well. Not in a kinky way, but in an off-putting way. One she wasn’t sure she wanted to dwell on more at the moment.
It had bothered her all day, and she’d scoured over the reference materials within the library section of the building, trying to find an explanation on why it was she’d seen the demon while awake—if perhaps it was something the demon could do or if it was truly just exhaustion.
It had been hard to focus on research with Duncan on her mind.
Now here he was.
Right before her.
Looking delicious.
Catrina had assumed she’d never see Duncan again after last night. That her panic over being kissed, and then running away, had sent him hightailing it. She was happy to find that wasn’t the case. She bit her inner cheek, wishing he’d give her another chance and kiss her once more. She was even open to his suggestion of fucking her.
Turning, she fished the key from her pocket to lock the door to the building.
“You’ve a key to the library?” he asked, genuine surprise in his sexy voice.
“My apartment is on the upper floor, and the library isn’t really operational or open to the public anymore,” she said, doing her best to avoid revealing too much. “Is Liam meeting you for dinner down at the diner?”
“If he knows what is guid for him, he’ll give me this time alone, and just keep doing what it is he’s doing,” he said, glancing in the direction of the woods, which were just across the way. He stared at the area intently, narrowing his gaze as he did, as if warning off someone or something.
“Duncan?” she asked.
His gaze moved back to her and he grinned. “Aye?”
She glanced away. “I didn’t mean to freak out on you last night. I was just caught off guard by everything.”
His gaze searched her face. “You’ve nothing to be worried over. I dinnae mean to say what I did—about wanting to bend you over and, um, be with you.”
“Be with” was such a nice way of saying fuck her.
As her body heated more, she realized just how okay she was with the idea of him bending her over and doing whatever the heck he wanted.
Duncan inhaled deeply and stiffened. “Lass?”
“Huh?” she asked, sounding anything but intelligent. She was fine with that. Her ovaries needed a moment to live their dream, and they were taking it. She nearly sighed as she thought more about what it would be like to have sex at all, let alone with a manly man like Duncan. He screamed alpha male and her lady parts ate up every bit of it.
His gaze locked on to her mouth. “Lass, last night…I was swept up in kissing you and need rode me high. I shouldnae have said what I did out loud. Yer lips were…are…too distracting.”
She bit her lower one, thinking the same thing of his lips. The man’s mouth was pure sin. Everything about him was.
He winked. “Lass, if yer nae busy, would you care to join me for dinner? I’d like the company.”
She checked the time on her phone. “I have to be at work in about an hour and a half.”
“Guid. We can eat and I can see you to the bar. It just so happens my motorcycle is there, as is my brother’s truck,” he said, making her take pause. “We, um, called for a ride, what with the amount of alcohol we’d consumed.”
“I thought Liam was your cousin?”
“He is. But he dinnae ride his motorcycle here because of weather. He brought one of my brother Kennard’s vehicles,” he said, putting his hand out to her.
The act was odd but what was even stranger was the fact she automatically reached out, wanting contact with him. As their hands met, the same heat she’d felt the night prior returned. It settled deep in the pit of her stomach. While it was a different feeling, it wasn’t alarming. If anything, it excited her. Made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Happy.
The feeling was somewhat foreign to her.
It felt as if it had been years since she’d had anything close to real happiness. Years since she’d dared to let good into her life.
Duncan held her hand in his and strolled leisurely down the sidewalk. “Are you cold? Yer nae in much.”
She had on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a slim-fitting hoodie. All of her was covered. “Not in much?”
“Aye, what yer in is tempting. Verra tempting.” He squeezed her hand tightly.
She cocked an eyebrow. Was he for real? She was totally covered and her outfit was anything but sexy. “Duncan?”
As if coming out of a daze, Duncan lifted her hand and began to inspect it, worry etched on his handsome face. “Och, sorry. I dinnae mean to squeeze yer hand or hurt you. I was so worried about coming in my jeans just looking at you that I dinnae mind my strength.”
He came to a complete standstill.
Catrina did her best to keep from laughing but it didn’t quite work out as planned. “Come in your jeans, huh?”
“Shite. That fell out,” he said softly. “I dinnae mean it. Well, I did mean it, but… Shite.”
She eased before him and took his other hand in hers as well. Grinning, she stared up at him, finding his current predicament adorable and entertaining.
He watched her. “Yo
u find this funny?”
“I do. Mostly because it means you’re still interested in me. I’m not the only one feeling something here. And it means I didn’t ruin any chance with you last night when I rushed away.”
“You feel something for me?” he asked, drawing her closer.
“I’m attracted to you, yes,” she responded. “Never said that to a guy before. I’d be freaked out about all this, but really, this doesn’t even rank on my scale of out there.”
“What does rank on this scale of yers?” he questioned, keeping her close to him.
If she answered truthfully, he’d run screaming. Or think she was nuts. People didn’t buy easily into the fact monsters were real. For good reason. Most had never seen one. They were something only found in movies or myths. Campfire tales, even. To Catrina, they were not only real, they were ingrained in her life.
That meant she was putting Duncan at risk by having an interest in him. She knew as much but couldn’t find it in herself to step away. There was something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on, but it made her want to be near him.
Made her trust him fully.
Made her want to act on the urges he brought out in her.
So much of her life had been dedicated to the cause. She’d never taken a moment to live for herself. And she wanted to do so now. With him.
“Lass, you’ve nae answered me,” he said.
“I know. And I’m not planning to answer the question.”
A smile touched the edges of his lips. “I like that you’ve no fear of me.”
“Should I be afraid?”
“Never.”
“That’s a relief,” she said with a wink. “Especially since while you were talking about coming in your jeans, I was close to creaming my panties.”
Her boldness shocked even her.
His eyes widened. A trickle of sweat moved down his temple, and she saw him straining, his gaze locking on her chest. “Lass.”
A wave of bravado came over her, and she knew if she didn’t act on it, she’d regret the moment. Regret passing on a chance to be with a man like Duncan. It didn’t matter how wrong it was to want something fleeting with a man she barely knew. There was a high chance she’d die soon anyway. That what she was hunting would be her end. If she was going out, she wanted to at least have a bit of bliss in her short life.
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