by Claire Ryann
He felt his heart stop. The thought that she might be hurt causing him a surprising amount of anguish.
He heard the sound of the engine rev and could barely make out the front tires spinning in the mush. The woman in the car was OK. He relaxed. But she wasn't going anywhere until the spring thaw-- or till help happened by.
Daelan knew the kid was unlikely to be back up with the plow for at least another day. Of course, he could send the kid up to pull her out of that snow bank, but-- Daelan sighed, watching the frozen vapor from his hot breath curl in a cloud in front of him-- the kid had been getting less reliable with each passing turn of the moon lately.
A wisp of jealousy coiled in Daelan's gut. He didn't want someone else to do this. He wanted to be the one who came to her aid. He wanted it to be him that she looked at with gratitude. It would be him that enjoyed the rewards for coming to her rescue.
The big white wolf jumped off its rocky overlook lightly and headed back to the den with a purposeful speed.
Daelan tried to deny the giddiness that was carrying him swiftly toward the big 4 wheel drive in his driveway that would easily rescue the human woman from her snowbound prison.
Finally, he had an excuse to meet her. In human skin. Human skin that ached to press against her.
4
Haley spun the tires until there was no hint of traction left. Then she let loose with as many curse words as she could think of while she searched her memory banks for any information about getting unstuck from a snow drift that she might have unconsciously stored at some point in her life.
She ran through the mental inventory of movies, books, televisions, and personal conversations and came up empty. If she'd ever learned anything that could help her right now, it had been replaced with more important information like the lyrics to Baby Got Back.
Of course there was no signal up here either. Once she got about 500 feet off the main road, her cell phone was nothing but an expensive point and shoot camera.
She looked around the cab of the car. Pens. Receipts. Empty coffee cups. She made a note to get those out of the car when she got back to the cabin. She hadn't seen any bears up there yet but she didn't need to tempt fate.
She didn't even know what she was looking for, all she knew was that she didn't have it. With another scream of exasperation aimed at the ceiling of the car, she reached for the door handle and climbed out of the warm, safe cab and grimaced as her feet hit the snowy road.
A seriously bad idea, she realized as soon as she was standing next to the car. For one thing, her shoes were nowhere near water proof or insulated. As soon as her feet sank through the snow she could feel the cold and wet seeping through the synthetic material and soaking her socks. Her toes were instantly numb.
Still, she grudgingly stomped through the snow and mud, inspecting the situation.
The car was stuck. S-T-U-C-K. Stuck as fuck. Fucked up stuck. She continued her rhyming game as she rounded the hood of the car and took a look at the other side.
The passenger side rear wheel was wedged into a trough where the pavement gave way to a sudden drop of several inches into mud and slush. It looked like it had sunk through a foot of snow all the way to the mud below it. The rear bumper was wedged keenly into a wall of snow from the snow plow that came through every few days after a storm. That's what had caused the car to come to a stop. At least she hadn't banged up the bumper by hitting the actual side of the mountain.
Not that it mattered. The front passenger tire was sitting in a semi-circular trench carved out by spinning. Snow piled up along that side of the car, built up from the sideways slide.
Haley didn't know much about cars but she knew her wheels didn't have traction. She thought of the box in the trunk with the snow chains in it. The ones she never got around to exchanging for the cables that were compatible with her compact sedan. The ones that could do significant damage if she used them. Didn't matter anyway, she couldn't put them on now if she wanted to.
While a combination of her stuck as fuck rhyming game mixed with Baby Got Back refused to relinquish its hold on her brain, she began carefully moving back toward the warm, dry cab of the car. At least the engine still ran and that meant she could keep the heater on while she figured out what to do. As she came around the front bumper she felt the ground give way under her foot. She went down hard, landing on the iced-over snow that covered the road knee first.
She felt like screaming. She rolled to her side and clutched her knee as stars exploded in her vision. She decided to go ahead and scream.
She was so busy feeling miserable for herself she didn't notice the sound of the diesel engine chugging up the hill until the crunch of tires coming to a stop a few feet from where she was laying in the road scared the living daylights out of her.
The truck's engine shut off. Winding down with a uniquely diesel sort of shudder. Haley recognized the sound from her early nursing days of working in the ER-- the sound of ambulances and firetrucks.
"Don't move, I'll be right there."
The concern in the man's voice was not at all what she'd prepared herself for. She'd expected the usual lecture she got from locals about her city girl background.
Her anxiety evaporated, replaced by an unexpected warmth that started in her core and spread through her veins like she'd taken a shot of whiskey.
She twisted her neck so that she could get a look at the source of the deep baritone that had vibrated the ground beneath her-- or maybe it had just vibrated her.
From her awkward vantage point in the middle of the road, with her head tipped back to look behind her, all she got was an upside down image of a man's legs as the rest of him bent to rummage in the back seat of the 4 door crew cab Ford.
His legs were long and thick, encased in heavy, dark brown, canvas pants that covered well-worn hunting boots.
"Hang on, I'm coming," he called back toward her.
The owner of the sexiest voice she'd ever heard emerged from the truck and headed toward her with a thick, wool blanket in his hands.
Haley let go of her knee, temporarily forgetting the wet snow against her skin and the throbbing pain in her knee cap.
All she could think of was the throbbing wetness that had started somewhere else.
***
The man hurrying toward her with a worried look on his face was wearing a flannel shirt in a dark blue plaid. His hair blew back from his face in unkempt brown waves that ended in deep rust-colored curls. His beard was full and neat but it looked more like the beard of a man who had better things to do than shave rather than the neatly coiffed and oiled hipster beards lining the streets back in the city.
The slightly redder hue of his facial hair did little to hide the determined expression he wore as he knelt beside her.
Haley noticed his eyes were a deep olive green. The irises were lined with a darker ring of steel gray and his pupils were slightly dilated.
It figured she would get rescued by the hottest mountain man in the Cascades.
Haley let her head fall back into the wet snow beneath her and closed her eyes tightly while she tried to imagine herself out of this grossly humiliating moment.
"OK, sit up and let's get you on your feet," the stranger ordered in a brisk voice that suggested he was used to being listened to.
Haley let him pull her to a sitting position. "I'm OK," she started to assure him but before the words were fully formed, he'd pulled her onto her feet. Her knee exploded in a spray of tiny fireworks of pain as she straightened it out fully. Nope. Not gonna put weight on that.
She immediately shifted her weight to the good leg, causing her to lose her balance and land with both hands against her rescuer's chest.
Her breath caught in her throat, this guy was as solid as a brick wall. His hands made quick work of wrapping the blanket around her and then closed in against her to keep her steady.
For a breathless second, she was pinned against his chest. Her hands were flat against him and she could
feel the definition of his pectoral muscles under the thin flannel shirt, the warmth emanating from him despite the frigid temperature, and the beat of his heart under her right hand. It was hard and quick and as she looked up at him in surprise as his hands pulled her tight against him, she could have sworn for just a second that it was pounding because of her.
The spell broke suddenly as he aimed a frown down at her. She suddenly felt foolish. Her face flooded with heat and she knew she was blushing furiously. She tried to take a step back to add some much needed distance between her chest and his but doing so required the use of her other foot. As soon as she planted her foot on the ground and attempted to put her weight on it, pain shot through her knee cap again. She winced. The palms that had been open flat against his chest suddenly curled around his upper arms as he regained his grip on her.
"I don't think you should stand on that," that deep voice rumbling through his chest again, pulling her back into the reality of the moment.
"No really, I--" whatever she'd been about to say was jarred from her memory as her feet suddenly lost contact with the ground again. Only this time, instead of falling to the ground, she found herself falling upward. It took a bit for her to realize that the man had just lifted her easily and was now carrying her toward the passenger side of the big truck.
"Wait!" Haley suddenly found her voice, "My car!" She pointed with a flailing arm up the hill to the little sedan wedged into the snow across the road.
"It's not going anywhere," was all the gruff voice had to say on the matter as he set her onto the seat of the truck, "We need to get you warmed up and take a look at that knee."
On cue, her knee throbbed as she moved her feet to the floorboards of the truck before the heavy door swung shut.
5
The big truck made easy work of climbing the road and Haley took full advantage of the hot air blowing through the vents of the dash.
"You should have stayed in the car," he grumbled at her as he turned the vents on his side to face her as well, "you're not dressed for this weather."
He turned his head toward her and gave her a stern glare, "and your car isn't dressed for it either," he turned his eyes back to the road in front of them but kept the glare
"Thanks," Haley said dryly, "I hadn't noticed."
Daelan struggled to keep the corners of his lips from pulling up in a grin. She was feisty.
"Name's Daelan," he decided he could make better use of the rest of the drive, "I've been keeping an eye on you since I noticed the cabin was rented. It doesn't get too many winter tenants these days."
"Haley."
The woman next to him let out an audible sigh and he could feel some of the tension leave her body. Several other methods of relieving her tension sprang to mind and he had to shake the images out of his thoughts.
"So you live around here?" she asked.
Daelan wasn't sure how answer that one. The den was several miles away even cross-country, using the main road took a couple of hours of driving to get down to the main highway and all the way back up Old Tower. There were plenty of off road routes that took varying amounts of time depending on road condition, driver skill, and rig set up.
He frowned and quirked a corner of his mouth, thinking of how to answer, "Notsomuch, I guess," he finally went with, "but I scout the woods around the cabin often."
"Oh," she mumbled. She sounded like she wanted to ask more but the cabin was coming into sight.
He pulled the truck up into the clearing in front of the old place and parked close to the front door. Setting the brake, he hopped down from the lifted cab and arrived at Haley's side in time to keep her from trying to jump down on her own. He wanted to scold her for not waiting for him and remind her of her injured knee, but he got the impression that wouldn't go over so well.
He caught her around the waist as her feet slipped off the truck's icy step rail. Suddenly she was pinned against his chest again, just as she had been when he first lifted her out of the snow. He felt his pulse quicken, his heart thumping wildly against her breasts as her eyes lifted to meet his.
This woman was different than others. Something about her scent was sweeter than other women, something about her called to more than just his cock.
Daelan stifled the growl rising in his throat and let the woman slip to the ground at his feet, careful not to let her jolt the knee she was favoring.
Recognition danced at the corner of his mind but Daelan wasn't willing to acknowledge it. Haley would be just another conquest. Something warm and soft to play with for a few days and then he would return to the den and the tasks of leading the pack.
That's what he snarled at the feeling that mocked him like a phantom from the far reaches of his conscious. He couldn't worry about that now. He would have to deal with it later. Much later.
“Here,” he reached forward and wrapped his arm around her waist. H had to stoop to keep his arm tucked under hers, “Let's get you inside.”
“Good luck with that. My keys were in my purse,” Haley muttered tersely.
Daelan knew worried his next move might not go far in the trust gaining department but dark clouds were already obliterating the clear morning sky and fluffy flakes of new snow were beginning to fall.
He'd been a wolf in these mountains long enough to know the difference between a passing flurry and an impending blizzard and he didn't need to turn to get a good look at the darkness headed toward them to know that there wasn't time to drive down to her car and back.
“Hang on a sec,” he muttered as he left her leaning against the heavy wooden door of the cabin.
“Sure. No problem.”
Haley's sarcasm followed him around the side of the cabin.
The cabin had once been part of the pack's territory, having been built in the 1800s to serve as a hunting cabin for winter teams when they were this far from the den. The pack had sold this portion of the mountain in the 60s when the power company had offered them good money for access to the summit where they were installing poles to carry electricity across the mountains.
Dalton had since lost track of who exactly owned the land currently. The cabin was rarely occupied, but occasionally the current owners rented it out to hunters or honeymooners.
The land wasn't part of the pack's regular trail anymore but it remained one of Dalton's favorite areas to head to for solitude when he needed to think.
He rounded the side of the cabin and climbed the steps of the deck that had been added along with a set of French doors that opened off the side of the kitchen. Crossing to the wood pile that lay neatly stacked beneath a lean-to shelter, Dalton gave a cautious glance around before shifting.
The wolf made nimble work of lightly bounding up the stacked firewood, over the lean-to and onto the cabin's roof where he was easily able to access the attic window. He knew the cabin well, having helped his own father build it, this window was never locked. Why bother? It took human thumbs to open the window, but no human could have climbed up to this window.
Dalton landed on two feet on the attic floor and closed the window behind him.
From there it was an easy task of climbing down the ladder and making his way to the front door where he was able to unlock it from inside.
Haley's eyes flew open wide as the door swung in, taking her support out from under her shoulder and causing her to lose her balance. She landed in his arms, looking up at him with something he hoped was admiration.
The snow had started falling in earnest in the short time it had taken him to him break into the cabin and he could feel how cold her hands were through his shirt as they braced against his chest.
He needed to get her inside in front of a fire and get that leg elevated.
Without further consideration, he hoisted her into his arms and carried her across the room to deposit her onto the sofa next to the fireplace.
“Hey!” she called after him as he closed and locked the front door and headed through the French doors near the kitche
n toward the wood pile out on the deck, “how did you get in?”
6
Daelan didn't answer her right away. He was more concerned with getting her seated on the corner of the sofa next to the fireplace, wrapping her in the thick quilt that she kept tossed over the back and propping her knee up on the ottoman.
Haley wasn't sure what to make of this guy. He knew his way around her cabin, that's for sure. He also seemed to think nothing of carrying her around like he didn't notice that her scrubs were a few sizes bigger than the average magazine model.
After making sure she was settled in, he disappeared into the kitchen. She heard the sound of the freezer opening and closing and soon he returned with an ice pack wrapped in a kitchen towel to hold on her throbbing knee cap.
"Thanks," she offered somewhat meekly as she took it from him and watched as he disappeared again.
This time he returned from the patio on the side of the cabin carrying an impossible arm load of firewood. He let it drop in a pile beside the hearth and then got to work getting a fire going.
As she watched the way the muscles across his back worked as he carefully chose thick oak rounds for the fire's foundation, she came to the conclusion that he probably wasn't going to murder her. Seriously, why go through the trouble of taking care of her knee and keeping her warm if he was just going to hack her to pieces with the hatchet he was using to sheer off the little twigs that protruded from the wood that refused to stack neatly in his fire?
Haley let herself relax against the back of the sofa. The fire was getting established enough to take the chill out of the air inside the cabin and it was growing especially warm where she was sitting just to the side of the hearth.
She shoved the heavy quilt off her lap into a heap beside her on the sofa.
She wasn't sure if the fire was really responsible for the warmth she was feeling or if she should chalk it up to her new friend.
She almost laughed aloud at her thoughts. Sure, he'd picked her up out of the middle of the road and brought her home, but he'd also left her car unlocked with all her stuff in it, broken into her house, and admitted he'd been stalking her. She wasn't sure “friend” was the word she was looking for.