Legend of the White Wolf hotw-4

by Terry Spear

  That's when the door suddenly opened and Faith stalked inside, a frozen smile on her lips, her eyes narrowed in a confrontational way. She looked as though she was ready to punch out her competition, and he loved it. "Forgot your towel, honey." Faith waved the blue towel at him and slid her arm around his waist, snuggling up next to him. She gave Lila a get-lost look.

  He was ready to play the lover's role for real.

  Lila sniffed the air. "She's the one with you at my office this morning. Are you looking for his partners, too? Or something else?" she asked Faith.

  Faith stiffened. "Office? You're from Back Country Tours?"

  "Lila Grayson."

  "I'm looking for Trevor Hodges. He works for you, right?"

  Her smile faked, Lila said, "Not of late. What did you want him for?"

  "He guided my father on a… tour. I wanted to see the route they took."

  Lila narrowed her eyes. "And you are?"

  "Faith O'Malley."

  The woman's eyes widened a little in recognition. Then she smiled slyly. "Well, old Trevor Hodges could be anywhere out there." She waved her hand around in the direction of Baxter Park and the surrounding woods. Then she glanced outside at the steamy spa. "Don't want to let your water get cold." She smiled again at Cameron. "Offer still stands, if you decide to come work with us."

  "Have David and Owen meet me at the lodge, and I'll hear for myself if they plan to quit our partnership."

  "I'll be sure to give them the message." Lila whipped around and headed out of the building, shoving the door against the wall as she left the place.

  Faith hurried to close the door against the blowing wind.

  "Why did she recognize your name?" Cameron asked, pulling off his sweater.

  "Dad seems to have made an impression on a lot of people. And she might have met him when he hired Trevor to take him on the tour." Faith dumped her ski coat on one of the cedar benches.

  "I thought maybe there'd been some trouble when your father came on his trip here. At least the way Lila responded it sounded that way."

  Faith tossed her sweater onto her coat. "What was the business offer she proposed to you?"

  The fact Faith changed the topic so quickly made him wonder even more what this was all about. "She wanted me to become one of her guides."

  "And you don't believe your friends would quit the partnership like that?"

  "Nope. We've been friends since grade school. Always talked of having a partnership. And even if they did want to jump ship, they'd never do it like this without discussing it with us, and then giving us time to downsize or get a couple of new partners."

  "Hmm, so it sounds like Lila Grayson and probably her partner, Kintail Silverman, have something going on."

  "Yeah." But what was the deal with Faith, her father, and Trevor Hodges? "Do you believe that Trevor Hodges no longer works for Back Country Tours?"

  "Nope. No more than I believe your friends are leaving you and your other partner high and dry without saying so face-to-face." She unbuttoned her blouse.

  He felt like a kid in a candy store, waiting to see all the treats. He turned around and pulled off his shirt to give her some privacy. When he tugged off his jeans, the door squeaked open and shut, and he looked around to see she'd left him. Smiling, he hurried to join her outside. The cold wind whipped across his bare skin, as she quickly slipped into the hot water with a splash. He got an eyeful of blue bikini panties, a matching blue bra cut nice and low, and pristine peach flesh covered in goose bumps. She lowered herself into the bubbling water, the swell of her breasts lifted above the foam. Her gaze moved lower, her expression bemused; his body was certainly responding. He hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself.

  "Warm enough?" Although as hot as she looked, he figured she could heat the water right up.

  "Hmm, perfect." She closed her eyes and rubbed the hot water over her neck and shoulders and sank lower into the tub.

  Yeah, perfect was right. No matter what the woman wore, or didn't wear, she was a sight for deprived eyes.

  Cameron climbed into the water and settled next to Faith, wanting to make the night with her something special. The warm water and powerful massaging jets that targeted his lower back and calves were only half the fun. The sound of gentle moving water through amplifiers built into the tub casing covered the noise of the jets. "This makes the cold and the trip well worth it."

  Before he could settle in nice and close to her and take advantage of her soft expressive mouth, a gray-haired old lady waddled from the back side of the building in a coat and short snow boots, but her white, hairy legs were bare. She smiled. "Be right out, folks." She entered the changing room and shut the door.

  Cameron scooted even closer to Faith, his body touching hers, the image of her half naked sitting this close to him in the heated water, stirring up a raging need. Before the woman returned, he shifted restlessly, his gaze moving from the shower house to the object of his most fervent desire. Faith. Her lips wore a tentative smile, but her eyes—they challenged him to take the first step. He couldn't help being irritated with the stranger, to say it mildly. But he wasn't about to let the woman stop what he had in mind to do.

  He leaned over and pressed his lips against Faith's mouth, savoring the velvety softness, the way she woke to his touch, lifting her chin to accommodate him, closing her eyes, her hands clutching at his forearms. He touched her supple breasts and she moaned softly, but the moment was all too short.

  Shattering the mood, the older woman exited the room, wearing a tent-size bathing suit in hot shimmering pink and the furry boots. "Charles must have fired up the hot tub earlier than usual, although I haven't heard a peep out of his sled dogs. He must've figured we couldn't get out in this weather to ice fish. Always so considerate of his guests. I'm Mary."

  "Faith, Cameron," he said, pulling away from Faith, although his leg and hip still rested against hers. His hand shifted to her thigh, caressing, enjoying her silky skin, and the way she leaned against him. But even though her eyes were smoky with desire, the newcomer's presence caught Faith's focus. All he could hope for at this point was that Mary would tire of the tub quick enough and leave so he could get back to business.

  "On your honeymoon?" Mary asked, smiling as if she were a woman in the know.

  Faith said yes as he said no. The old woman laughed. "I've been there, done that myself."

  As soon as she had her boots off, the sound of crunching snow from the direction of the backside of the shower house warned them others were coming. Faith gave Cameron an I-told-you-so look, and he figured it was time to leave before the woman's grandkids showed up with the floaties. Except that the way the newcomers moved, the footfalls sounded more like adults' and not overzealous kids'.

  Three men around Cameron's age came into view and gave Faith interested looks, then went inside the changing room.

  "Do you want to leave?" Cameron asked, figuring she'd want to, as he certainly did.

  She patted him on the leg and leaned over to speak in his ear, her whisper soft voice rousing him even more, which made him wish the others would just vanish in a puff of mist. "I hate to be run off, Cameron. The jets feel so good on my back." She snuggled closer and kept her hand on his thigh.

  Hell, now he was really ready to take her back to the cabin and try out his new sleeping bag for two with her. "Are you sure?" He ran his hand over her arm and kissed her cheek, hoping to coax her away so they could have more privacy.

  She gave him an interested smile. Yeah, she was game, but she still wasn't leaving the warmth of the hot tub. Couldn't blame her there. The heat and pulsing jets were only part of the draw though—the sexy, nearly naked body snuggled up beside him, soft and malleable and hot and wet—that's what inspired him to stay a while longer.

  The raggedy-looking guy with frizzy red hair and a shaggy beard exited the building and gave Faith a wink, his green eyes challenging her to join him— later. Barefooted, the other men hurried out of the shower house and
across the snowy deck to reach the tub pronto.

  Cameron wrapped his arm around Faith's shoulders and gave her a squeeze, not caring if he was showing his possessiveness. Besides, he was keeping Faith warm, in case she needed him to. She responded by leaning her head on his shoulder and caressing his thigh, way too erotic for all the company they had, although with all of the millions of bubbles rolling to the surface of the water, no one could see a thing. Speculation was another story, and he imagined everyone was speculating away. "He wasn't no Bigfoot," the redhead said to his companions as he climbed into the sauna and sat next to Mary.

  The old lady laughed. "Bigfoot, Chris? When I was a girl, three of my friends and me saw him. Or might've been a her. Twelve foot tall he was. Hairy, slouched over like a bent-shaped man, only naked and bigger. He glimpsed us in the woods, sniffed the air, then hurried into the shelter of the trees, and disappeared. I wanted to follow him. See where he went. But the other kids were too chicken."

  "You saw him around here?" Faith asked, at once her body stiffening with interest, surprising the hell out of Cameron.

  He really didn't think she'd be interested in hearing about fairy tales, since she was a forensic scientist, dealing in scientific fact.

  "North of here. Toward Baxter Park," Mary said, nodding vigorously, as if she'd gotten a live one to listen to her tall tale.

  The black-haired man of the three shook his head and looked over at Faith. There was something about the way he observed her, not as if he was interested in her sexually, but something else. Almost as if he were a cop, watching for her reaction. "Not Bigfoot this time," the guy said. "It's one of those others, and we need to take care of business."

  "One of what others?" Faith asked, sounding a little too interested.

  Don't encourage them, Cameron wanted to say. Hell, next they'd be talking about little green men and being poked and probed on a spaceship from a galaxy far, far away.

  Chris smiled at her, then looked at his friends, but the expressions on their faces said that this was still a secret and they weren't about to share their findings with a couple of strangers.

  Cameron was just as glad. But Faith persisted. "What was it you saw?"

  Chris cleared his throat and gave her a half smile. "Maybe we can talk about it in private sometime."

  "Ah, Chris, can't you see the two are together?" Mary teased.

  "Her loss," he said, grinning at Faith.

  Cameron wanted to wipe the grin off Chris's face, and although he wanted to take Faith out of here pronto, he couldn't now. It had to be her call, or he'd look like a possessive, overbearing lout.

  Chris turned to the black-haired guy who was patting the bubbles on the surface of the water, his nearly ebony gaze still on Faith. "Should we tell her, Matt?"

  Matt shook his head. "Privately, if she wants, just like you said." His voice was cold and calculating, and Cameron didn't like it one bit.

  Faith stared Matt down, and then turned her head and looked up at Cameron with the most adoring expression. He thought it was faked just for their audience's benefit, but he was willing to believe. "Ready to call it a night, honey?" she asked, her tone seductively enticing.

  Well past ready, but his heated gaze wasn't in the least bit false.

  "It's about that time. Wait, and I'll get your towel." What he wanted to do was kick the men's asses out of here while Faith got out, and he would have, too, if she'd agreed.

  He climbed out of the hot tub, grabbed her floral towel, and held it down close to the water so she could leave without showing off her wet bra and panties. No one said a word, and he suspected the guys were watching her in rabid fascination, but he was too busy trying to shield her from them to see. With the towel wrapped around her, she headed into the women's shower room, and he entered the men's room.

  Once he was dressed, he left the changing room, out of view of the hot tub to wait for her near the path they would take to her cabin, when he saw three feral looking white wolves in the trees near the main lodge, the blowing snow almost disguising them. Lila stepped out of the forest to join them, her red lips turned up in a half smile. "Kintail told me to bring you to our hunting camp. You can see Owen and David there."

  He wanted to speak to them. But not like this. Not off in the wilderness somewhere that he couldn't communicate with authorities if need be. Not without some kind of backup.

  "I'll take your suggestion under consideration. In the meantime, I've told the police about my missing friends."

  Her lips curved up even more. "Good for you. I imagine they were readying the search parties right away."

  The woman had him there.

  She snorted. "Didn't think so. See you around, Cameron."

  She turned and took a few steps in the direction of the snow-cloaked spruces, and he swore, dressed all in white still, she evaporated into the snow-filled wonder land. Her wolves eyed him longer, then one by one, they whipped around and vanished, too.

  "Cameron!" Faith hollered from around the backside of the shower and hot tub building, sounding distressed and in need of his help.

  In full rescue mode, the adrenaline pumping pell-mell through his blood, Cameron dashed around the building to save her.

  Chapter 5

  FAITH WAS POINTING AT THE SNOWMOBILES PARKED BEHIND the shower and hot tub building, the one snowmobile's back end dented. But that's not what got Cameron's full attention. The wolf lunging in their direction, materializing out of the snow without any warning, made his heart nearly stop. He wasn't sure which one of them the wolf was aiming for, but he didn't have time to do anything but block Faith's body with his own, and throw his arm up to protect his throat. She screamed. The wolf bit through his jacket and into his arm.

  "Your gun!" she shouted.

  "In the cabin." He never thought he'd need it at the hot tub.

  He tried to shake loose of the wolf as if it were a friendly old dog with a big bone, playing tug-of-war, growling, eyes narrowed, hair on the back of its neck standing on end, but just in good-natured fun. Only Cameron's arm was the bone and it hurt like hell as the pain radiated up and down through every nerve ending. Plus he felt the blood seeping from the wound, the tear in his parka letting in the chilled air.

  Suddenly, Faith swung a snow shovel, striking the beast in the hip. He yelped, released his hold on Cameron, and jumped back from Faith. For a second, his eyes stared at hers as if he was reading her inner soul and every thought she had.

  She stomped at him and swung the shovel in an effort to hit him again, and this time Cameron swore the wolf smiled. Then the beast bent down, whipped around, and melted into the snowy woods before she struck him again.

  Faith dropped the shovel and grabbed Cameron's good arm. "We've got to get you some help."

  The pain in Cameron's arm throbbed even harder now. "You mean, ask for it from those clowns in the hot tub? When Charles Roux returns, we can get him to send for help. Just take me back to your place for now."

  She didn't listen to him and instead helped him to the hot tub. Everyone had left. She opened the door to the changing room, letting some of the heat out. The place was empty. "No one here," she said.

  "Guess when you left, the party was over."

  "Oh, Cameron, your face is so pale. I'll get you to my place, but I don't have any first aid kit, and I didn't see any in the cabin. What about you?"

  "Bandages for blisters, but nothing for wolf-sized bites."

  "Then we'll have to check out the main lodge."

  He was going to object, but Faith had a mind of her own and helped him to the main lodge porch, then up to the door. She tried the handle. Locked.

  He could have told her it would be. Otherwise, people like him might just wander in and make themselves at home.

  "Sit here, for a second, Cameron. I'll see if any of the windows are unlocked." She helped him to one of the knotty pine rockers, put her ski cap on his head—which reminded him he should have brought his own—then she started tugging on windo
ws.

  Watching for any sign of the wolf that attacked him, he let out his frosty breath, cradled his injured arm against his body for warmth, and tried to ignore the streaks of sharp pains like needles jabbing into the muscle.

  Faith tried to open the rest of the windows on this side of the lodge.

  When she began to venture around the backside, Cameron said, "No, Faith. I don't want you out of my sight."

  She frowned at him. "It'll only take me a minute. If I can find an unlocked window, they might have antibiotics and better bandages inside. I have to try."

  "No, it's not worth it. If the wolf's still lurking out there… it's just not worth it to me. Come on. Take me back to your cabin so we can get warmed up." His blood had soaked his shirtsleeve and sweater and it had chilled him even further. Now, due to the shredded parka sleeve, everything that had been wet was coated in ice. Shivering uncontrollably, he didn't think he could get any colder.

  Still frowning, Faith helped him down the steps and back to the cabin. "I can use my towel maybe, to stop the bleeding. How bad does it feel?"

  "Not too bad," he lied, afraid she might still try to go after the windows on the other side of the lodge once he was settled in her cabin. "With as many layers of clothes as I'm wearing, he didn't hurt me too much."

  "A German shepherd can crush a bone. I imagine a wolf could do even more damage. Are you sure you're not too bad?"

  "I was feeling better."

  She chuckled, a little hysterically.

  "Sorry. I guess I shouldn't have told you that."

  As soon as they reached the cabin through the path to the woods, she assisted him inside and helped him to one of the dining room chairs, then locked the door. After removing his coat, she pulled off his sweater and stared at the blood and rip in his shirt.

  "Not too bad," he said. "It's not even bleeding any longer."

  A flitter of concern slipped across Faith's face, but she quickly removed his shirt and wrapped the towel around the wound without saying a word.

  "Tetanus shot up-to-date," he said. But he knew that probably wasn't what was worrying her. Rabies. What if the animal had rabies, and that's why he'd attacked?