by M. L. Briers
Autumn was starting to blow in on breezy days, hot one minute and cold the next as the lazy hand of summer refused to bow out too soon. Right now he was sweating his nuts off trying to load hay into the back of the flatbed truck, alone, and all because his brother, Callum, had decided to disappear again.
One moment the damn man was gung-ho to be a part of the crew, one of the pack, and the next he was high tailing it off to God knows where. Not even a damned apology or anything worth his time in picking up his slack, yet again.
Rowan blew out a hard breath and shoved his gloved hand under the strap that held the bale together, with a yank that proved too much for the strap, it gave way, unexpectedly snapping as he went to swing it, and dumped him on his backside on the hard ground.
With a grunt against the pain that resonated up his spine, and an unforgiving growl for his idiot brother, he rested his arms against his knees and shook his head in annoyance.
He didn’t like feeling like this. It was Callum that was the bad mood- bad boy of the pack, not him, never him… Well, sure, he could get pissed off sometimes, who couldn’t, be he generally had a pretty, happy-go-lucky kind of attitude to life- until he needed not to have one, and with his role as enforcer in the pack- it was sometimes his duty to butt heads, but generally, and on the whole- he liked life and liked to enjoy himself.
Rowan’s ears caught the sound of the chugging engine of a car a moment or two before his eyes locked onto it. A bright, shiny, red bug was cruising up the dirt road, and chugging like the filters were blocked or the exhaust was ready to fall off or both.
He narrowed his eyes on the stranger behind the wheel, but that lazy sun was glaring off the glass and making it impossible for him to tell who was driving.
What he did know was- that unless someone had recently purchased that car, and he couldn’t see why they would, it wasn’t a local.
One thing about being a wolf shifter was that you got to know everyone and yet no one in your general location. Not getting overly friendly with the locals meant no awkward questions, but passing the time and sharing a smile and a greeting sometimes provided you with some titbits of information and any wolf sightings that someone might have come across.
It was part of his job, just by being pack, to log any occurrences when one of his pack had been spotted in wolf form, and in his job description as enforcer to make sure that backsides were kicked for it. Above all else- they could never give away their true nature to a human- their very lives depended on it.
Everyone knew the stories of werewolves being hunted to near extinction in the old days. It was myth and legend, and so damn true.
While his people weren’t mindless werewolves, biting and turning humans- they were still shifters, Lycans, able to control their transformation, and they posed no threat to humans, but shifting into a wolf was enough for people to fear them.
Rowan wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist and waited for that chugging vehicle to get to where it needed to be, and that was where he was, because the dirt road that it was on only lead to the barn and the waterfalls beyond, but that a ways away, and not many people knew about them.
He caught sight of the woman behind the wheel and his length twitched to life at the sight of her. A dark haired, bleach streaked beauty, with the face of a cherub, and he would bet the body to match.
He sat up straighter and craned his neck to see in the open window… yep, her breasts were nicely rounded, more than enough for his hands to get a real good fit around, and they bounced with the rise and fall of the uneven road quite nicely. He might have even drooled on his chin a little…
He had to wonder what a beauty like that, soft and oh so tempting, was doing roaming into his lair…
~
~
~
Kiri squinted against the sunshine that was hitting her square in the eyes- catching sight of the barn, and the truck that sat out front; her eyes flicked down to the guy sitting on his backside on the ground with arms resting against his knees. The wife beater shirt that he wore defined the muscled chest, and arms that were packed with even more muscles.
She gave a small inward sigh of appreciation. The man was definitely a workhorse, because she very much doubted that they had one of those twenty four hour gyms out in the middle of nowhere, and his tanned complexion told her that he didn’t spend too long inside.
The map on her phone had said this was the way that she needed to go in a short cut across the land to rejoin a main road that would lead her to her new life in the highlands, and while a mountain was high, she didn’t think she’d come to the right place. With a quick flick of her eyes towards Rowan as he pushed up to his feet; she pulled up beside the truck and let the engine idle.
“Can I help you?” Rowan’s deep tones were full of gravelly goodness as he slowly stalked towards her car, and something inside her sparked to life and told her to be wary.
It was in the way that he walked; as graceful as a cat, eyes trained on her, it felt as if he was stalking his prey. There was just something about him that set her witchy senses into alert.
“Apparently you’re hiding something,” she offered back and even from a distance she saw his eyes narrow and his step falter.
“And what would that be?” He sounded wary now; matching that nagging feeling within her with the tone of his voice.
“According to my phone map; a road that will take me to the main road to Inverglen.” She watched the tension in his shoulders ease a little and a small smile take his lips upwards, almost in relief.
“You missed your turn, one back.” He informed her as he came to a halt a few feet away and pushed his hands down into the pockets of his jeans.
Damn, but he looked good. Like a male model on the pages of some farming magazine, but none that she’d ever seen on the shelves or she might have been tempted to buy it just to drool a little.
His faded jeans hugged in all of the right places. Work boots held a strange attraction for her, and those little gloves that men wore when they worked on the land were almost strangely tempting; and she didn’t even want to think what his actual muscles were doing to her libido.
He was the full package of yummy goodness, and she hadn’t even gotten to devour his face yet- not properly.
“Gotta love technology,” she gave a small shrug off her shoulders; remorse at having to leave such a find behind, perhaps. She could spend a few hours watching him work, lifting… stuff- with those big old muscles flexing away. She nearly sighed again at the thought.
“Adore it, especially when it tries to send you over a cliff,” he gave a low chuckle that warmed her within. It sounded like distant thunder only the promise was better than a rainstorm. Although, she wouldn’t mind being trapped somewhere in a rainstorm with him.
“Tell me that doesn’t happen around here otherwise the phone gets it,” she joked back, but not really. She’d heard stories of people ending up in the sea because they’d blindly followed a map, she did not want to be one of those people.
“Not that I’m aware of,” he chuckled again and those broad shoulders moved up and down. She liked that. She’d thought she liked views of the countryside around her, but now she’d decided that the view she had right then was way better.
“Good, I don’t want to be a splat on the side of the mountain.” She reluctantly reached for the gear stick and the thought of her continued drive north didn’t fill her with such enthusiasm anymore.
“Now that would be a shameful waste,” he drawled, another little rumble of a chuckle under his words and she was hooked.
There was just something about him; those sinful deep brown eyes, maybe, or the way his two day old stubble clung to his square jaw and reached up, framing kissable lips, very kissable lips… not that she needed kissing, or wanted kissing.
“So which way do I need to go?” Kiri asked, and for one long moment he had the strangest, hungriest look on his face, as if he’d just spotted dinner.
South, right down on my aching length, and bounce a little, sweetheart…his beast growled within him at the thought of taking her right then and there over the rounded bonnet of her damn car. Forwards, backwards, and damn sideways; he could image them all. Those breasts of hers bouncing as he thrust deep and fast…
“Hello…?” she giggled a little. Noticing that he seemed to be lost in thought.
“Err, sorry,” he snapped back to attention and tried to shake off the erotic images in his mind. “Spaced out there for a second.”
“Which way?” She grinned and showed off her perfect white teeth, and damn it to hell, but he could image her sinking those teeth into his flesh, biting down before she licked him all better.
Rowan had a need to readjust his length in his jeans. He was harder than hell and cruelly trapped by the fabric when he’d much rather be inside of her.
Damn, I need to get laid. What the hell is wrong with me?
“It’s ok, I’ll find my way,” she waved a dismissive hand.
While she would love to sit there while he gormed out a little and take in the view of… him. She had a ways to go and the sun was getting lower in the sky. Driving the mountain roads at night was not on her to-do list, and she needed to get down the other side of the mountain and find somewhere to stay.
“Wait!” He snapped back to the reality of it. Stop acting like a damn teenager and get your act together. He growled inwardly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” he tried to dismiss it with one of those smiles that the ladies seemed to love.
“Easily distracted?” she teased back, and his smile widened. “I had a goldfish like that once.”
Oh, lady, I very much doubt that your goldfish got a boner and wanted to take you over the bonnet of your car. He almost chuckled at that thought, but then he wouldn’t just look like a weirdo for spacing out, he’d look like a psycho too.
“It’s been a long day.” He lied. It had, but if only that was the reason.
He took another couple of steps and took his first sniff of her scent. She smelt like his favourite dessert, vanilla ice cream and peaches. His mouth started to water… but there, underneath it all was an essence that he couldn’t ignore either… Fae.
She’d damn well bewitched him alright.
“Witch,” the word was out of his mouth before he’d even put his brain into gear.
Rowan saw her eyes flare. She swallowed. Then she angled her head towards him a little, questioning him with her eyes.
“Which what?” She sounded a little nervous, and so she should because in that moment he put one foot in front of the other and started towards her. His long legs ate up the distance in the time it took her to snap out of her surprise and come up with a getaway plan, but by then it was too late.
Rowan reached in through the window and snatched the keys from the ignition. Her hands reached for them in panic, but they were already gone. A rush of anger went through her as she turned her eyes towards him and felt that warning of his presence against her shields…
A little damn late… she berated her magic for not picking up his true nature before, and she swallowed again. She’d had her shields wrapped tightly around her body all day- just in case- just on the off chance, but really, what were the odds.
Wolf.
How did I not see it? Just look at that body, and no damn gym around for miles!
Dumb, dumb, and damn it!
“What are you really doing here?” Rowan demanded.
She could see it in his eyes, apprehension, suspicion, like she was the enemy come to do him or his kind harm. She was just a witch- not some deadly plague that wanted to cause mayhem.
It was the same old- same old, and the reason that she’d left home. The supernatural world either wanted something from you or didn’t want you around. She wanted to find somewhere where she could just start again, blend into the background, be just a woman and not a witch.
“Trying to leave,” Kiri shot back as she tried to snatch the keys that dangled from his thick fingers, but he snatched them away.
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere,” Rowan informed her with a growl that rumbled in through the window and deep into her bones.
It wasn’t a damn chuckle like thunder. It was his stupid growl. She admonished herself.
How could she not have pieced it all together? Middle of nowhere. A guy that looked like him- she could see the shifter in him now, a little late, but the signs were there.
It was true that she was more used to vampires where she was from. There weren’t many wolves that hung out for long in the city, not enough open spaces for their beasts to run, to hunt, and where they wouldn’t get caught, sighted in their beast form.
It was a different kind of a tingle against her magic. Not the subtle knocking that a vampire would have presented, but a kind of buzz that had become more profound the closer that he come towards her.
I’m an idiot! What was the etiquette when coming face to face with a wolf shifter on his own turf?
“Get out of the car,” Rowan reached down and popped the door open. The hinges creaked out ominously and she felt another wave of apprehension wash through her.
Now his muscles and broad shoulders looked imposing, just like the mountain had when she’d first viewed it from a distance. That ripped chest didn’t seem quite as inviting to her touch anymore, and his eyes had darkened like a damn storm was coming.
“I think not,” Kiri wasn’t about to put one foot on his land if she could help it.
“This is pack land, and it’s not a democracy,” he offered back.
Rowan cursed. Every inch of his body was her cheering squad, while his mind was rallying against what he hoped wasn’t true. This woman did something to him that wasn’t just lust and the desire for a good time had by all, and he wasn’t ready for that yet…
Mine… his beast set the claim in stone. Apparently his wolf had no such qualms.
“Look, just give me my keys back and I’ll be gone. No harm- no chicken for you to bite the head off,” she gave him a forced smile, but he didn’t smile back. His face was set in stone, apart from a muscle that twitched in his cheek.
“Oh, good, witch humour.” His bland tone made her nose twitch.
“Oh good, shifter brooding,” she drew her eyebrows deeper towards her nose in a scowl.
Rowan rested his arm against the roof of the car and leaned down to look at her. He couldn’t help scenting the air. It was thicker with her essence inside the car, and damn, but he liked it. Liked it a little too much as his length twitched inside his jeans.
“I’m not brooding-”
“That time of the month?” she shot back with a small pout and a subtle twist of her head as she pushed back into her seat and folded her arms under her breasts, hitching them up a little, and getting a long, deep, hungry growl back in return.
“Hey!” she snapped out as her eyes flicked up to find him practically drooling as he stared down at her cleavage.
“Well, you did offer,” he cracked a smile and the damn sun came out. He had a playful look about him that wasn’t just attractive, it was downright sexy as hell.
Split personality if ever she’d seen one.
Be still my heart. Kiri told herself as it hammered against her ribs like a freight train. Not totally, still need a beat or two. She added the amendment; just in case.
“I can offer you a knuckle sandwich too. Do ya wanna take up that damn offer?” she hissed up at him.
“I don’t think breaking your hand on my face would do either one of us any good,” Rowan liked how feisty she was, but not the fact that she was a witch. That wasn’t what he’d planned for his life.
He’d always imagined himself with a she-wolf, running wild and free across the mountain- their wolves playing chase, hunting prey, and then doing what mated wolves did. She was a human with a twist.
Kiri sighed then. She might have felt a little safer with a ton of steel around her, but she knew that deep down
she wasn’t really safe from this man at all. He could reach in and snap her like a damn twig if the mood took him, and a moment ago; she thought that it just might have, but now, now she wasn’t so sure what was playing on his mind.
“I just want to be on my way,” Kiri tried to sound as adamant as possible. He was a wolf, a dominant male with challenge issues, but being strong, standing up for herself was the order of the day- and being as least of a threat to him or his pack as possible.
“Unfortunately, for the both of us, that’s not how this works.” Rowan’s deep scowl worried her.
“I’m a witch and you’re a wolf, and we’ve both got something to lose here. Don’t make me use my magic against you. I’m not that kind of a witch.” And she wasn’t, she liked to keep herself to herself as much as possible and not have to use her powers for defence, but if the need arose then she could defend herself.
“Get out of the damn car,” Rowan growled. He didn’t like threats- especially now, especially from her.
His brother, Maverick, had a witch mate, and the woman was quick to zap anyone and anything that annoyed her. He needed to put down some rules with this witch, make sure that she knew what he’d expect of her- as enforcer of the pack it was his duty.
Kiri bit down on her annoyance. Cursing the damn technology that had brought her to the wolf’s door. Cursing him, cursing her Fae heritage that had given him cause to mistrust her motives and put her in harm’s way.
“Give me my keys,” she tried one last time, but it was one time too many for Rowan.
His beast was antsy. It clawed within him for the woman that had just fallen into their lap. For the woman that was being too damn stubborn by half.
He reached into the car and wrapped a large hand around the bare skin of her wrist. A jolt of awareness went through his body and a strange tingling, nothing like pins and needles, spread up his arm and over his body, and he yanked her out onto her feet…