by Lynn Marie
She glanced down at the bulge in his sweatpants and lifted an eyebrow. “So you’re saying…”
When he didn’t detect any fear in her voice, he elaborated. “Wolf-me might try to mate with you.”
She shivered. “Okay, yeah… some other time, then. It must be kind of scary for you, though, to know what’s happening in your body but not be in the driver’s seat.
He nodded and grimaced. “I once killed a deer and ate about half of it before my dad found me and stopped me. Skin, intestines, bones…”
She wrinkled her nose. “Eww.”
“Now, speaking of those primal urges.” He reached for her.
Her eyes darted up to the clock on the wall and she cursed. “I can’t, Michael. I’ve got to meet my sister for lunch.”
He growled.
“When I get back, though,” she said, taking his thumb into her mouth and raking her lower teeth along the pad of his thumb. All the blood in his entire body drained right to his groin. “Maybe we can play some more with the plug?”
The power of his arousal was so intense that he couldn’t see straight for a second. He blinked a couple of times to bring her back into focus. “You’re not too sore?”
She shook her head slowly.
His brows lowered over his eyes. “Then let’s go put it in right now.”
A whiff of her aroused scent hit his nose. Oh yeah, she was into the idea in a big way. “You know as well as I do that if I let you do that you’re not going to let me leave the bedroom.”
“I know how you could convince me.”
She bit her lip, moved in to kiss him, and lingered long enough to have his head spinning. The minx.
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Be back sooner.”
She scampered off to take a shower and Michael dragged himself off the floor, willing himself not to follow her. He knew how important her sister was to her, and he knew that she hadn’t seen her in a little while. He could keep it in his pants until she got back.
Besides, he had some phone calls to make. He got out the town directory and flipped to the page he needed. As soon as he heard the shower door close, he dialed.
“Hello? Hi, this is Michael Blackwood. I’m calling about your neighbor, Brock Johnson. I was wondering if you knew where he was last Tuesday after midnight. Yeah, the night of the fire. Oh, really? Is he at home right now?”
Evelyn stared at her sister across the table. The earthy tones of Dana’s sweater clashed horribly with the cherry-red plastic booth seats in the retro diner. She was wearing her trademark long, patched skirt, hundreds of noisy bracelets, a lot of eyeliner and no bra. Tiny threads hung from the hem of every piece of clothing she owned, and it always made Evelyn wish she carried a small pair of scissors with her.
“So how’s the bakery going?”
They’d met at the diner Dana’s town over an hour ago; and so far she’d yet to work up the nerve to tell Dana about the fire. She’d already had two cups of coffee.
Maybe this would be easiest to just get off her chest.
“There was a fire,” Evelyn blurted. “Last week, in the bakery.”
Dana’s eyes widened. “Oh my God! Don’t you live right upstairs? Are you all right?”
Her shouting was drawing the attention of the other townsfolk in the diner; however, now, as she looked around, she was met with sympathy and compassion in the faces of her neighbors instead of distrust.
Strange how fires could bring people together. Unite a town, even.
“I’m fine. No one was hurt, but my store and my apartment are gone. Grandma’s recipes and pictures are in a safety deposit box, though,” she added with a meaningful look. If she’d been asked a month ago, she would have scoffed at the idea that her sister had some sort of sixth sense. But now, between the fire and the eerily specific tarot card reading…
Dana’s brows knit and she reached across the table for her sister’s hand. “I didn’t know it was going to happen, I only… it was just an inkling, ok? Was an oven left on, or—”
Evelyn had to laugh at her sister’s total and utter loyalty, refusing to phrase the blame on her. “No, actually…” she trailed off, grappling with the decision of whether to protect her sister, as she’d done for years, or tell the truth. Dana was a grown woman, now. “Someone poured gasoline.”
This time, she gasped loud enough to turn every head in the diner. “What?” she boomed.
Before her sister could let out a loud curse of fury, Evelyn lurched forward in her seat and hissed, “Shh!” Just because they had compassion for her, didn’t mean everyone wasn’t waiting with baited breath to hear the story first hand. “Keep your voice down.”
“But… who?” Her eyes drifted down to the table and suddenly jumped up to meet Evelyn’s. But her stare was accusatory. “You think it was Dad.”
Though it wasn’t a question, Evelyn answered with a nod. “Yeah, I think it might have been.”
“He’s been calling you, hasn’t he?”
“And I’ve been ignoring him.”
“But how did he know where you were?”
Evelyn shrugged. “One of Mom’s old friends, maybe. Not sure. The police are looking for him, but I want to make sure you’re safe.”
Dana shook her head with disapproval. “That is just so fucked up. I can’t believe him.” Shaking her head again, she refocused. “Well you’ll obviously stay with me. We can go shopping today for some stuff that you’ll need—”
“Actually,” Evelyn interjected with a little cough. “I’m staying with my… boyfriend.” She winced at the term. It sounded so lame, and it made her heart heavy. She felt so guilty, for a lot of things. For imposing (in spite of his assurances), for letting something so lame as “boyfriend” define him, for being so closed off that she couldn’t just tell him that she loved him
For the first time since she’d sat down, a smile stretched Dana’s lips. She sat back in her seat with her arms crossed and a lofty expression. “Whaaat?”
“He was with me when it happened. He… he saved me, Dana. Literally ran into a burning building for me.”
“Wow,” she murmured, truly stunned. “This is Michael, right? The guy you’ve been seeing?”
“Yeah. It’s going… really well.” Understatement of the year.
“You think he’s the one?” Dana’s eyes rounded, excitement lifting her musical voice higher.
“I think so.” Evelyn smiled ruefully. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you what I mean, but he’s the one from that reading you did when I first got here. The man with the… wolf.”
“No fucking way.”
“Fucking way,” Evelyn returned, laughing.
“Well then. When do I get to meet him?”
The rest of lunch was a delight—she got to gush about her relationship to the totally biased audience of her closest friend, and get updated on Dana’s life. She’d forgotten how much she missed her sister. As Dana rose to leave, she hugged her tightly. “We should do this more often.”
“Sorry I can’t stay longer, but I don’t trust Alana to run the store for too long—it’s bound to go to her head. But we definitely need to do this again soon. Come over for dinner one night, and bring that man of yours.”
Evelyn laughed. She was excited for Dana to meet Michael. They’d really like each other. “All right.”
When she pulled back, Dana was wearing a huge grin. “I love what this relationship has done to you, Sis. You seem so… calm. Calm and happy.”
“I am.”
Dana breezed off and Evelyn sat down to finish her coffee. She watched her sister cross the street to where she’d parked her car. Dana waved to her one last time and Evelyn waved back. She stared up the street for a few seconds, then glanced down the opposite way.
Her cup of coffee fell from her fingers, hitting the table with a thunk and spilling all over her. Evelyn shot up, cursed softly and used her napkin to blot the stain on her pants and the puddle on the tab
le.
When she had the mess under control, she looked back up. The wolf she’d seen had ducked behind a car, but she swore that it had been looking right at her.
“You all right, Honey?” her waitress asked. “Hot coffee in the lap isn’t fun.”
“Yeah, I’m fine—it wasn’t that hot anymore… sorry about this,” she said, glancing down at the table.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” the older woman said. She leaned down with a wet rag and wiped it away. “Can I get you another coffee?”
“Yes, please.” She didn’t have anywhere to be. No bakery, and Michael wasn’t expecting her home for a little while longer.
Her blood heated at the thought of what was waiting for her when she got back—another glorious, sweaty, intensely pleasurable exploration of her sexual limits. They’d get out the plug and maybe he’d tie her up again…
Oh, screw this. It was time to go home and jump Michael’s bones. She flagged down the waitress. “On second thought, I’ll just take the check.”
Evelyn sped to Michael’s place, grateful for a small town’s flexible speed limits on open roads. Disappointed to find herself alone at the house, she decided to entertain herself until he got back with a hot cup of tea and her boyfriend’s HBO subscription. Honestly, the number of channels that man thought he needed…
Her phone rang as she set the kettle on the stove. She didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Evie?”
She gulped and her heart launched itself into her throat. “Dad.”
“Please, wait! Don’t hang up!”
This was probably the only time she had no plan to. Maybe she could help the police track him down if she talked to him. She just had to get him to tell her where he was…
Wait a minute. Why would he call her if he’d set the fire? To gloat? Was he really that crazy?
“Dad, why are you calling me?”
The relief in his voice was as clear as his words. “Thank you for not hanging up, Evie. I just want to talk to you for a minute.”
“Why have you been calling me?” she repeated, dread sinking deep into her gut and coiling around it.
“I miss you so much. I wasn’t sure you’d ever speak to me again,” he said, his voice cracking a little.
She was silent, stunned. Was this some sort of act?
He cleared his throat. “I wanted to let you know that I’m back.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. “Back—”
“In rehab,” he finished, pride and not a little remorse in his tone. “That’s why I’ve been trying to call you. We’re working through the steps and I’m… I’m trying to make amends. I know it’s not enough, but I want you to know how sorry I am for what happened before.”
Evelyn’s head spun. “How long have you been in rehab?”
“About three months now. The doc says I’m doing real good. I want—I mean, I need to pay you back. I know rehab ain’t cheap and I feel like a scumbag for how I walked out on it last time when you were trying to help me.”
“Okay…”
“Listen… do you think—I know it’s a long shot—but do you think we could meet up after I finish the program? I’d love to see you and your sister.”
Completely thunderstruck. “Okay,” she heard herself say.
“Really? Oh, honey, thank you! You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that. All right, I’ll call you later. I miss you.”
“Bye.”
Evelyn hung up, feeling almost numb. Any enthusiasm she could muster for her dad seeking help was far, far overshadowed by the cold truth that he couldn’t have set the fire. So someone else was behind it, and probably someone in this town.
She hadn’t been well-loved as a newcomer, but she couldn’t imagine she’d have done anything to inspire any particular hatred. The Morley-Wilson-Kennedy trio hadn’t been her biggest fans, but they’d come around. Trip had been chilly, too, but he’d been so friendly, and even helpful lately. Brock was… well, she wasn’t quite sure about him. From what she could tell, he had something of a mean streak, but seemed relatively harmless to Evelyn.
As she flipped through her mental phonebook of the town, it became more and more likely that Michael had been the intended target of the fire. Sure it was her place that had been destroyed, but he’d been there that night. It was common knowledge how often he spent the night.
She needed to tell him. She hit Michael’s number on her home screen—she’d set him up as an emergency contact—but it rang six times then went to voicemail. Her hands shook as she put down her cell and she couldn’t quiet her thrumming heart.
She cursed, loud and lengthy. What should she do?
The police station was probably a good idea. The Sherriff needed to know about her dad, too, so they could stop wasting energy looking for the wrong guy. A phone call was probably all she really needed to inform Bill, but being alone in Michael’s house didn’t seem quite as safe as it had ten minutes ago. He’d picked a place outside of town for the peace and quiet, but now it just seemed isolated.
With any luck, Michael would pick up his damn phone if she kept calling on the way to the station.
Her purse was by the door and she started digging around for the keys in its bottomless depth as she walked outside. Looking up, she stopped dead.
A huge, dark wolf stood between her and the car. Its lips were lifted in a silent snarl and it was low to the ground, looking ready to pounce.
Evelyn screamed, dropped everything and whirled around. Fear made her fingers feel fat and slow as she slammed the door after herself and turned the lock. She cursed herself for dropping her keys.
Get inside and barricade the door.
Even if this wolf changed back to get the keys, whoever it was wouldn’t be able to get inside if she blocked the door. She looked around wildly and settled on the couch. It was almost too heavy for her to move on her own and she wondered if it would even stop a wolf, but she had to put something there. Nearly wrenching her shoulder out of its socket as she pulled, she barely managed to get it in front of the door. She piled the coffee table and end table she’d knocked over as she moved it on top of the couch for good measure.
She had to call the cops. Or Michael. Or someone.
Oh shit. Her phone was outside in her bag.
Oh shit. There was more than one door in this house!
She ran to the back of the house, praying she’d be strong enough to move the fridge. The wolf appeared through the kitchen window a split second before the doorframe splintered. She screamed and ducked as the door flew through the room, narrowly missing her.
The wolf picked itself up off the ground, shook off some debris, and fixated on her. Another scream died in her throat as it growled. It was a horrifying noise that made her ears ring and her heart speed. She fought to keep her eyes on her predator and not cover her ears.
She had to find a way out of this. The wolf was between her and the door and there was no way she could outrun it so her only chance was to try to hurt it somehow. There was a knife block on the counter near her, but she didn’t know precisely where without looking and she didn’t want to look over and give away her plan.
The wolf slowly advanced, hackles up, and she stepped back.
Maybe the human inside that wolf could understand her. If so, maybe she could distract it long enough to get all the way to the knives.
“I don’t know who you are,” she muttered in low tones that she hoped sounded both comforting, in case the wolf didn’t understand her, and fierce, in case it did. “But I do know why you’re here. And I know you set the fire. Are you so much of a coward that you’re going to kill me without letting me see your face?”
The wolf stopped and lifted its head, cocking it to the side. She swore she saw it grin as it settled back down and prepared to launch forward. But suddenly, the teakettle whistled behind her, startling both of them. She’d forgotten all about it!
They both turned an
d an idea half-formed before she even knew what was happening. The wolf lunged, and she moved without thinking. She grabbed the kettle, burning her hand, and swung it around. The searing hot copper hit the wolf square on the side of its head and water spilled down its back.
The wolf made some approximation of a scream of pain and fell back a few steps, shaking its head and whimpering. As soon as it was distracted, she dropped the kettle and scrambled for a knife.
White-hot pain in her thigh made her leg buckle just as she wrapped her hand around the handle. With a cry of surprised agony, she fell backwards, but not before she wrapped her hand around the hilt of what she hoped was the biggest knife. Blindly, she whipped back around, throwing her weight behind her arm.
The impact made her teeth rattle and pain shoot up her entire arm. It hurt more than she was expecting it to and her hand slipped on the knife as the wolf backed away. When she recovered from the impact, she saw the handle sticking out from behind its front leg. It whimpered and limped in a circle, trying to reach the knife alternately with its teeth and hind leg. As Evelyn scrambled up, it fixated back on her, growling.
Then, it laid down. She was so surprised by its apparent resignation, she forgot her terror and watched in utter fascination as the wolf heaved a big sigh and closed its eyes. Suddenly, its skin started to ripple and pulse under the fur.
Uh oh. It was changing back. Probably to dislodge the knife.
Evelyn booked it as fast as she could through the busted doorway. Her leg was bleeding badly from what was either a bite mark or a scratch and it hurt something awful, so her limping progress felt glacial. Eventually she made it around to the front of the house, scooped up her purse and yanked open the car door with shaking fingers. She locked the doors and put her purse in her lap, cursing herself for owning such a bottomless pit. Then, she remembered.
Filled with dread, she looked up in time to watch, helplessly, as an enormous, naked man pressed the unlock button on the keys she’d dropped.