by Marie Mason
She’d moved to the windy city to pursue another of her dreams—working for an ad agency. She no longer worked at a dull office job so she should be grateful. The change in location when she’d moved to Chicago hadn’t jump started her love life though.
Well, having one out of two dreams come true wasn’t bad.
Driving under an empty overpass, Julie read the sign that indicated her turn off was only a couple of miles away. Snow already covered half of the sign, the flakes adhering to the cold metal like a tick on a hound. Even though it was only late afternoon, it appeared as if night had fallen early in the city. The headlights of her car glowed brightly along the highway as she neared her exit, making the swirling flakes sparkle.
As her car started sliding again, Julie realized coming to Chicago, agreeing to be in her friend’s wedding, venturing out of her comfort zone, might have been a mistake. When a huge snowdrift suddenly appeared in front of her, she was helpless to prevent her car from slamming into it.
The white-knuckled grip on her steering wheel loosened as her car came to a complete stop. Before her was solid wall of white and she realized, good or bad, the snowdrift had stopped her car. She let go of the steering wheel and her hands fell to her sides like two wet noodles. After a moment, strength returned, and she reached up to turn off the engine. Who would have guessed the jalopy of a car would still keep running? Maybe it had a Timex engine. She giggled. And then giggled again. Realizing she could quickly become hysterical, she clamped down on her emotions. As her mother always said, what was, was. She turned on her hazard lights. Maybe someone else was foolish enough to be out in this weather. Remembering the unnatural lack of traffic on the highway, she wondered briefly if there was anyone left in the city to rescue her.
Taking a deep breath to brace herself, Julie opened her door and was immediately lashed by icy wind and stinging snow. She ducked her head and struggled against the wind, cautiously making her way to the front of the car. Maybe she wasn’t as deeply buried in the snow bank as she feared. With a little traction, maybe she could…
Well, fuck.
Julie wasn’t one to usually curse but this situation called for that four-letter word and a couple of others.
The front end of her car was buried in the snow bank. There was no way she could get out of this by herself. Not until the snow stopped and the road crews worked their magic and maybe not even then. She’d probably have to pony-up for a tow truck.
It had been snowing when she’d left the office to go home and pack. If she’d realized how much snow had been expected to fall in such a short period of time, she would have sent her friend an email to ease her conscience and grabbed a good book to wait out the storm. The thought of sitting in front of a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate in hand sounded heavenly. Not that she had a fireplace in her one bedroom apartment, but she could have turned her heat up high and pretended.
Why, oh why, hadn’t she stayed at home?
Because you were tired of being alone.
Snow was matting her eyelashes and she realized she wasn’t doing any good standing on the side of the highway getting colder and wetter by the minute. Cutting a path to the back of her vehicle, she wiped off the taillights on the off chance someone did come by and was conscientious enough to stop and see if anyone was still inside the vehicle. Next, she dug out around her tailpipe. Since the little car didn’t appear to have any engine damage, hopefully she could turn it on ever so often and warm herself up until she was rescued.
By the time she made her way back to the driver’s side, even more snow had accumulated, making it difficult to open her door. Or maybe she was just growing weaker from being out in the cold. She vowed if she got out of this, she was going to start saving her pennies and take a vacation somewhere warm. Like California. Or Hawaii. As a big girl, she usually avoided places—entire states—where the casual attire of the female population consisted of Daisy Duke shorts and bikini tops. But right now, she sure as squat didn’t like the snow anymore.
She climbed back into the car and the wind slammed the door shut behind her. For a moment, she just sat there, entombed in an icy, white world as the snow continued to fall, covering all the windows.
For a moment, panic set in, making her breathing speed up until she was almost gasping for air. Stop it, she commanded herself as she took of her wet gloves. There was nothing to gain by letting herself panic. The snow would not last forever. Snowplows would come through, sooner rather than later. She hoped. She needed to conserve her fuel and stay warm. That’s all she needed to do.
And see if her cell phone had any bars. No one would be worried about her yet. She debated calling 911. Was this something they did? Rescue stranded motorists. Maybe an emergency vehicle could get to her. A sheriff’s deputy with a four-wheel drive. She frowned. Did cities have deputies? Oh, hell, what did it matter? Right now, she’d take a ride with the abominable snowman himself.
Digging her phone out from the bottom of her purse, she realized her internal debate had been a moot point. She had no signal. It seemed as if the snowplows were her only hope.
CHAPTER TWO
The first thing Hunter was going to do when he got to his parents’ house was shift and take a long freaking run. The confined space of his two plane rides was apparently still making his wolf antsy. Or maybe it was just being in the city again. As they’d hit the city limits, his wolf had started prowling inside him, poking at the control Hunter placed over it as if looking for a weak spot in order to break free.
The Hummer was surefooted on the snow-covered road but that didn’t eliminate the need to see where he was going.
Damn. Shit. Fuck.
He turned his wipers on high, but it was doing very little to maintain his visibility. Maybe he’d made a mistake by requesting this layover in the middle of winter. He should have just stayed in California until it was time to report for deployment. California. Sunshine and girls in bikinis. But something—his damn wolf—had told him it was time to see his family.
Hunter McCall did not ignore his animal, no matter how wrong it appeared to be at times. Like now.
That got a growl out of his wolf and Hunter smiled. He had a closer relationship than most shifters did with their spirit animal. Probably because of all the tight spots they’d been in together over the years. They’d learned to rely on each other. It was what made him a hell of a marine.
OohRah!
The snow now completely covered the road. For a few miles, he’d seen the tracks of other vehicles and knew he wasn’t the only fool out on the roads. But as he’d gotten further from the airport, those tracks had gradually disappeared. Now he was following the guardrails and relying on his instincts to navigate the highway. He hunched his shoulders over the wheel, a sense of urgency seized him as the snowfall grew heavier.
Damn, if this kept up, he’d have to abandon his car and shift to try and find some place to take shelter. A warm cave would be a damn sight better than a cold hunk of steel to ride out a blizzard. Not that he would find a cave in downtown Chicago. But, he could make it to an exit and hopefully find a hotel with a room to rent.
He felt like he was already miles outside the city with no civilization for miles. That’s what snow did to you. Disoriented you. He vowed to take the next exit and try and find a place to hunker down for the night. Even if he had to spend the night in an all-night service station.
He swore under his breath as the Hummer started to slide. Easing his foot off the accelerator, he slowed down even more, riding out the skid. The area must have gotten a spell of ice before the snow. While better than most other vehicles in these types of conditions, even a Hummer had trouble on ice. The extras his sergeant had ordered—wide wheels and a set of chains—ensured Hunter would make it. It was just so damn slow going. His tension eased as he approached the next exit. He was sure to find a place to stay for the night and some food.
If it hadn’t been for the intermittent yellow flash of light, he would ha
ve missed it. Missed the snow-covered bulk sitting just off the highway, almost blocking the exit ramp. He slowed down and checked his review mirror out of habit and laughed. Who the fuck would be driving in the middle of a blizzard?
One crazy wolf, that’s who.
Slowing down, he considered continuing on. Surely, the driver had already been picked up by another Good Samaritan. He eased his foot off the gas. His military training and his protective instincts would not let him pass by without making sure no one was inside.
Plus, his damn wolf wouldn’t quit whining.
Shut up, he commanded the animal and was surprised by the vicious growl he received in response.
The snowstorm had already dumped at least eight inches of snow on the greater Chicago area. Because of the wind, huge drifts over three feet high had gathered on the sides of the road. Considering the conditions of the roads and the very small mass of the car, there’d be no point in trying to pull the vehicle free and help the stranded motorist on his way. He growled, knowing his trip was about to be interrupted. He pulled the Hummer off the road as far to the right as he could without bumping into the snowdrift that held the other car prisoner. He certainly didn’t want to get stuck.
Icy wind cut through his clothing as he opened the door and he let it close back quickly. Grabbing his duffle from the passenger seat, he pulled out his heavy coat before throwing the bag to the back seat. Quickly changing, he opened the door again and got out, hunching his broad shoulders against the wind that tried to knock him off his feet. Fuck. It felt as if he’d stopped in the middle of the damn arctic circle. He hadn’t experienced this kind of cold in years.
It was only about ten yards to the back of the stranded car. As he neared, his feet slipped and he started cursing in Farsi. He rounded the car, determined to get out of this weather as fast as he could. Wiping the snow from the driver’s side window, he looked inside, wanting to verify that it was empty so he could get back into the Hummer’s warm interior and be on his way.
As he peered inside, he saw what appeared to be a bundle in the passenger side of the car. The bundle moved and an instant later, an ear-piercing scream rent the air. Well, that answered his question of whether the car was empty or not. By the high vocalization, he assumed the person he was about to rescue was a woman. Shaking his head, he tried to clear the ringing from his ears. He grabbed the door and wrenched it open. An icy bond had formed around it, but it was no match against his strength.
The wind carried away another scream. “I just want to help,” he said quickly, trying not to frighten her even more. Instead of responding to him, she shrank back against the passenger door.
Julie had promised herself she wouldn’t fall asleep, knowing that would be the deadliest thing she could do. Groggy, she realized that was exactly what she had done. But what had awakened her? A dull thud against the side of the car made her jump. Usually not one to rattle, when she saw the hulking form outside the driver’s side door she let out a scream that would have done any horror queen proud. When the door opened, there was nothing else for her to do but scream again and back away, searching desperately for some type of weapon. But what? What could possibly protect her from what looked like the abominable snowman she’d envisioned earlier.
Her searching hands found and latched on to the ice scraper she’d used this morning. It wasn’t much but it was all she had. Before she could talk herself out of it not being a good idea, she swung her arm down, aiming at the hand that was reaching for her.
“Shit!”
The man’s reflexes were out of this world and she barely tapped him, making a small line of red appear on the palm of his hand. She didn’t have time to even think about hitting him again before his large hand was reaching for her, twisting her wrist, and forcing her to drop her make shift weapon.
“Please,” she whispered.
“I’m not going to hurt you, damn it.” His voice was low and gravelly and for some reason made her shiver more than the cold air he was letting inside the small car. “Now come here.”
He gave a surprisingly gentle jerk considering his size and apparent anger. She found herself straddling the gearshift for a brief moment, before he pulled her onto the driver’s seat.
Hunter cursed when the female struck out, more because she took him by surprise than the wound she’d inflicted on the palm of his hand. Well, scratch really. Blood barely welled up on the broken skin.
His fingers tightened on her wrist, forcing her to drop her weapon. What the hell was that? An ice scraper? He didn’t know whether to laugh at the thought of her fighting off a wolf shifter with an ice scraper or applaud her resourcefulness.
One more sharp tug and she was on his side of the car. As she fell into the seat, her scent drifted up and his wolf went wild.
Fuck.
He stilled as the ground seemed to tilt beneath his feet. For a moment, he experienced that same rush of adrenaline he did when he stepped out of an airplane at thirty thousand miles, the ground rushing toward him at an unbelievable rate before he pulled his chute.
Fuck.
“Well, are you going to rescue me or what?”
Hunter’s world righted itself and his protective instincts kicked in. Snow. Cold. Mate. Danger.
He didn’t answer, just grunted, bending down to take her in his arms.
“What are you doing?” While she protested his move, he was glad to see she wasn’t physically fighting him.
“Rescuing you, isn’t that what you wanted?” He carried her to the Hummer, sheltering her from the brutal wind as best he could. Shifting her in his arms, he brought her closer to his body. The coat she was wearing wasn’t very thick, damn inappropriate for this kind of weather.
“Yes.” The wind carried her voice away but he still heard her.
His wolf rumbled in his chest when she buried her face in his throat.
Damn, the man was warm, Julie thought as she snuggled deeper into his arms, burying her face against his neck. And did he ever smell good. His scent reminded her of a mountain meadow in the spring. And the winter. And the fall. And the summer. He smelled of wind and rain and earth and snow. Or maybe that was just the snow she smelled seeing how they were surrounded by it. She opened her eyes and realized the blizzard had increased in intensity, if that were possible. His movements were sure as he carried her and she had little choice but to give herself over to the situation she found herself in, and to…him. Now why did that make her insides go all tingly? Thoughts of giving herself over to him. Completely. Nakedly.
“Almost there.”
Another few steps and he opened the passenger door of a huge vehicle. He deposited her on the seat and closed the door, before hurrying to his side. For a blessed second she heard nothing, no howling wind, no ice crystals hitting the sides and top of the car. When the silence continued, she realized he hadn’t gotten in the vehicle himself. Panicking, she started to open the door, then caught sight of his shadowy silhouette. The wipers were going full blast and his headlights only illuminated the area a few feet in front of the vehicle.
But she made out his figure as he walked back to her car. Opening the door, he rummaged inside, stuffing something inside his jacket before he slammed it shut and moved to the back. With thick arms, he swept the snow from her trunk. She realized he was seeing if she had any luggage—or robbing her blind.
For a moment, she got angry then settled back down in the seat. Hell, if he wanted a couple of pairs of jeans, some oversized sweaters, and white cotton panties, he was more than welcome to it. She didn’t think he had to go around robbing stranded women to procure a wardrobe for his girlfriends.
She snorted. She was one hundred percent certain none of his girlfriends—cause she was a hundred percent certain he had more than one—would be caught dead in her clothing. They’d probably swallow the skinny little bitches. Wow! Where had that flare of jealousy come from?
Get a grip, girl.
As she watched him grab her bag, she real
ized she wasn’t frightened or scared anymore. Somehow, she knew the man making his way back to the car would protect her until the storm blew over.
Then he was opening his door and letting in the wind and the snow. The slam of his door blocked out the noise of the storm once again.
He turned around and dumped her bag behind the front seat before turning on the dome light.
Again, the silence seemed to entomb then. Slowly she became aware of the whisper of the fan as it blew heat from the vents. A far cry from the usual clanking sound that emitted from the dash of her car when the heat was on.
Holding out her hands, she let the hot air blew over her fingers. In her rather abrupt departure from her car, she’d forgotten her gloves on the dash. Leaning forward, the hood of her jacket fell down her back. She heard a small sound and turned to the man who had rescued her. A smile curved her lips. Who said all the good men were gone?
Cause this man was…more than good. If she could have, she would have licked her lips in appreciation of all his yumminess. But her lips were still too cold. Her eyes landed on his face. Dark, rugged, and strong. Those were the words that best described him.
“Here’s your purse.” He handed her the small black bag that had been on the front seat of her car. That must have been what she saw him stuff in his jacket.