“Are you serious? Passion should be spelled s-t-r-a-n-g-e. We’ve got all different kinds of people here with weird habits and customs.”
“Yeah, but I’m talking about an even weirder type of strange. Strange as in the paranormal kind of strange.” She wanted to ease into the topic, but so far Loren hadn’t picked up on what she was hinting at.
“Are you talking about vampires and goblins and stuff like in the movies?”
Sam studied the triskelion necklace Loren liked to wear. “Yeah. Like werewolves.”
Loren’s hand went to the necklace as though, once again, picking up on Sam’s thoughts. “Now that you mention it, I have heard stories about people who could change their bodies from one thing to another. They’re called shifters or skinwalkers. I’ve heard about werewolves, big cats, and even a few stories about witches and vampires. What are you getting at?”
She took another sip to fortify her resolve. “I think the big wolf that tried to attack me not once, but twice, is a werewolf.”
She waited, expecting Loren to laugh as so many of her friends had done. Instead, she dropped her gaze to the pool and moved her glass, making the wine swirl near the top of the goblet. “How do you know it’s the same werewolf?”
“Wait. So you believe me?”
Loren sighed then faced her. “I’ve seen things around here that I couldn’t explain, so why not a werewolf? Ten to twenty years is a long lifespan for a wolf around these parts, but for a werewolf? Who knows how long they can live?”
Sam’s thoughts flitted back to her conversation with Blake. He’d been injured by the werewolf, which, according to legend, would’ve changed him into a werewolf. But he’d told her that he hadn’t had any problems after the attack, and she didn’t get any bad vibes from him. Exactly the opposite, in fact. So the legends about how a werewolf bite could change a person might be the stuff of Hollywood movies and not real. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“So you’re sure it’s the same werewolf?”
“I know it’s him because of the scar running down his shoulder.”
“Which means he got the scar before he changed into a shifter. Shifters like werewolves can heal really fast. But shifters also keep the scars and wounds they have before they go through the change. Or at least so I’ve heard.”
Sam hadn’t thought about that. “Providing you’re right, then the man who changes into that werewolf will have a scar, too?”
“Exactly. Find the man with that kind of scar, and you’ve found your werewolf.”
“But how? It’s not like I can run around town ripping men’s shirts off and inspecting their shoulders.”
Loren giggled. “Wouldn’t that be fun, though?”
She was happy Loren could always find the brighter side of things, but that didn’t help her expose the killer werewolf. “What I need is to catch him in the act of changing. Then I’d know for sure.”
“But how are you going to do that? Ask men to strip and change?” Loren frowned at her empty glass.
“I think I have just the idea.” Sam snagged her glass and Loren’s empty one at the same time. “Come on. I’ve got a few things to buy in Denver. When we get back, I’m going to do a little hunting of my own.”
Chapter Seven
Sam positioned the camera at the side of the tree and angled it to record the same area where the werewolf had found her. Setting the camera to trigger only when a large enough movement occurred, she stepped back and studied her handiwork. She’d have to check the other cameras she’d already set up each day, but that was okay. Working the dinner and night shift at the diner gave her freedom during the day. She took in the solitary surroundings. No way did she want to check them at night.
Three days had passed since the incident at the diner. Three days since she’d seen or heard from any of the men. Had she gotten her wires crossed? Maybe fate didn’t have a hand in bringing them together after all. If it had, wouldn’t they have felt the same need to be together that she did? Or was it as simple as their feeling protective of her and nothing more?
She walked the several yards that took her to the edge of the small lake. Putting the last camera close to water would mean that its motion sensors would operate more often as it picked up nocturnal creatures coming to drink, but she hoped the batteries would last long enough for her to replace them the next day.
She worked quickly, knowing by now how best to mount the camera and test it. Grinning, she posed like a supermodel in a magazine, moving around and taking several different poses to make sure that the motion sensor turned on. Like the other five cameras, it came to life with a blinking red light and slight whirring noise.
A cracking sound had her jumping, spinning back to squint into the trees. She stood still and listened for another sound to tell her that she wasn’t just jumping at shadows. Although she had a right to be nervous with a werewolf around, not to mention creeps like the man at the diner, she refused to let her nerves get the best of her.
Still, maybe she should’ve asked one of the men to come with her. Hadn’t Victor warned her to take care? Reed and Blake had done the same thing when they’d called to check on her each day. Their concern was nice, but why hadn’t they come to see her?
The sound came again, only closer. She swallowed. It had come from the one part of the woods she hadn’t put cameras in yet.
The sound came again, even closer than before. The crack was loud and had to be coming from something or someone stepping on a good-size branch. Whatever it was that had broken a branch that size had to have considerable weight.
She backed away, keeping her sight on the area where the sounds had come from. Did she dare run? But if she did, could she run fast enough, long enough to outrun a werewolf? She doubted she could. Glancing behind her, she saw that she’d come to the edge of the water.
Did wolves swim? Yet even if wolves couldn’t swim, that didn’t mean a werewolf couldn’t. Yet she had no other options. She pulled off her running shoes and socks then waded backward into the water, going in until the water came up to her waist. The water was warm at first, but the farther she waded toward the center, the chillier it became. Her teeth chattered both from the fear inching its way into her heart and the cool water covering the lower half of her body.
A growl floated in the air. But what direction had it come from? She pivoted, her hands skimming over the water as she scanned the trees close to the lake’s edge. Yet another cracking of a limb had her swishing back to the left. Were there two of them? But two of what?
Her pulse thundered in her ears, her breath coming in quick pants as though she’d finished running a marathon. If it—them?—attacked her while in the water, how would she defend herself? She was a fool to have forgotten her gun in her backpack at the last camera site.
The noise to the right broke the silence. She choked back a whimper then lowered her body down into the water until only her head was dry, thus making it harder to see her. Maybe she’d get lucky and whatever it was wouldn’t stop for a drink.
She held her breath as the underbrush to the right of her parted to expose a muscled arm. Holy hell. He’s strong. Too strong for me to fight and win.
She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. But I’ll still give it one hell of a try.
The man pushed through the underbrush then came to a stop. “Sam?”
Relief flooded her as she took in Reed’s worried expression. “What are you doing out here?”
His eyebrows shot up and an “are you kidding me” look wiped the worry lines off his face. “You’re standing up to your neck in water with your clothes on, and you’re wondering what I’m doing out here?”
She glanced to the left. “I heard something making noise, and it kind of freaked me out. Actually, I heard noises from both sides of me. But I guess you were making part of the sounds.”
He pushed his dark-blond hair away from his face as he glanced around, searching the area. His arm was the width of a small tree trunk, an
d she could see other muscles in his form rippling as he moved.
Holy shit. You could be in danger, and yet you’re checking Reed out instead. Keep your mind on the problem.
“So you figured the safest place to be was in the water?” He strode to the muck at the edge of the pond. Although his tone was light, he’d shifted his attention to the left and was scouring that part of the forest.
To both her delight and dismay, the sound came again, albeit fainter than before. “There it is.” Yet when she turned toward Reed, he was already gone.
Please tell me he went to check it out and didn’t just take off, leaving me here alone.
She waited, unsure what to do next. Should she stay where she was, or should she try to find Reese and help him if he’d walked into trouble?
I have to help him. But how? I don’t even know which way he went.
Reed broke through the underbrush again. Although he was breathing hard, he didn’t appear to have any injuries. “I thought I saw someone, but I couldn’t catch up to him. I didn’t want to leave you alone.” He grinned. “Especially all wet like you are.”
His grin made her feel better even if he was joking at her expense. She let out a long, slow breath and stood up, lifting her upper half out of the water. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure where you’d gone.” She frowned, tilting her head at him. “One second you were here, then in the next, you were gone. How’d you move that fast?”
“It’s a gift, I guess.” His gaze dropped from her face to her breasts. “Your clothes are soaked. Maybe you should take them off and let them dry before you head home.”
She glanced down and saw her nipples outlined by the material of the shirt. Her bra didn’t help to cover much, either. Crossing her arms over her chest, she nodded. “If you’ll turn around, I’ll come out and get undressed. That is, if you’ll lend me your shirt while my clothes dry.”
He considered what she’d said then grabbed his shirt and whipped it over his head. Tossing it to the ground, he undid his jeans, kicking off his boots at the same time.
Damn, but he could make the chilly water boil with that body of his.
She’d been right about all the muscles under his clothes. His chest was muscled and widened up to shoulders perfect for her to clutch as he thrust his huge cock inside her pussy. She could imagine the muscles in his arms working as he held his body over hers and fucked her until she screamed his name. His legs were like the columns holding up a mansion. She shifted from one foot to the other, wanting to wrap her legs around his thighs then crawl her way up his torso. He was, just as Blake and Victor were, a perfect specimen of a male body.
“All I need is your shirt.” She wanted to say more, but the sight of his long, erect cock springing outward as he shoved his jeans down drove every other word from her except one. “Wow.”
“You still need to take off your clothes.” He waded into the water, coming straight at her. “Let me help you.”
If she’d had any sense at all, she would’ve told him to turn back. But sense wasn’t a readily accessible commodity when one of the men was around her. Instead, she kept her arms crossed over her breasts and imagined his cock aimed at her like a heat-seeking missile. It would find the heat between her legs and hit the bull’s-eye.
“Are you sure whatever it was is gone?”
Waist deep now, he dove under the water and resurfaced a couple of feet in front of her. “I’m sure. But we’re safe in the water, right?”
She couldn’t tell if he was making fun of her or if he was serious. “What were you doing out here anyway?”
Lately, every time she turned around, either Victor or Blake or Reed was nearby. She’d run into Blake at the grocery store, and although her basket was filled to the rim, his was empty. The next day she’d seen Victor darting into a ladies’ dress shop as she’d come out of the hairdressers’. She hadn’t thought much about it at the time—after all, coincidences did happen, and she didn’t mind seeing them—but finding Reed in the middle of the woods was too much to push off as a coincidence. Why hadn’t they called her and gotten together? It was almost like they were keeping watch over her but didn’t want to get too close.
“Nothing much. Just enjoying nature.” His hot gaze narrowed as he squinted to see the part of her body that was still hidden by water. “I do love the beautiful things nature gives us.”
She held back a laugh. “Uh-huh. You guys are following me, aren’t you? You’re keeping watch over me to make sure nothing happens to me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right. Then tell me what Victor was doing in a ladies’ dress shop.”
He tried to appear serious, but he couldn’t keep a straight face. “How should I know? Maybe he’s a closet cross-dresser. Live and let live, I say.”
She loved his sense of humor and knew she wasn’t going to get the truth out of him. Instead, she should tell him to leave, but she didn’t want to. What if the thing that had growled came back? What if it were the werewolf trying to get her?
Yeah, Sam. Tell yourself that’s why you want Reed to stay.
Truth was, it was both because of the threat to her safety and because she wanted to make love to him.
“Are you a good swimmer, Sam?” His eyes twinkled with mischief.
“I’m okay.” She gave him a suspicious look. “Why?”
“This is why.”
* * * *
Reed submerged his body then pushed off the bottom of the pond to swim straight at Sam. She pranced on her tiptoes as though ready to run. The space between her legs highlighted her mons, and if she’d been naked, he would’ve taken a bigger breath so he could press his mouth to her clit and tongue her.
Grabbing her by her lean waist, he pulled her under and carried her along with him underwater. She struggled for a moment then pointed upward, her eyes wide.
They broke through the surface with her gasping for air. She held onto his shoulder with one hand and swept her hair away from her face. He leaned his head back in the water, getting his hair to slick away from his face.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“You sure ask that a lot.”
“Maybe because you don’t give me a real—”
He shut her up by taking her by the hair and tugging her mouth to his. She jolted but didn’t try to push him away. He swept his tongue into her mouth, tasting both her flavors along with the water. At first she didn’t kiss him back, but after a moan she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and treading water with him. He plundered her mouth, but he was no victor taking the spoils of war. She was as much an aggressor as he was. They flicked their tongues over and around each other and gave nibbles to the other’s soft bites.
He sneaked his fingers below the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it upward. Breaking the kiss just long enough for him to pull the shirt over her head, he tossed it onto a large rock at the edge of the pond.
“You’ve got one hell of an arm. How did you throw it that far?”
He took her head between his hands and forced her to look into his face. “Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?” Without waiting for her to answer, he crushed his mouth to hers again and sought out the flavors he’d already grown to savor.
She clung to him, her legs moving slowly as she worked with him to keep them above water. He undid her jeans and tugged them, along with her thong, down her legs. Diving below, he pulled them off her legs and treated himself to a view of her smooth mons. When he came to the surface, he wadded her clothes into a ball and added them to the shirt on top of the rock.
“It’ll take longer for them to dry that way. And that, by the way, is not a question.”
“I’m counting on it.” He grinned and took her by the waist. She wrapped her legs around him, putting her pussy against his cock. Her breasts lifted in the water like two gorgeous buoys. He kept kicking to keep them afloat and loved the way the motion caused his cock to rub against her. A
lthough Blake and Victor hadn’t gone into details, the fact that she’d taken not only their bodies but their hearts had been written all over their faces. He wanted nothing more than to give her his body and heart as well.
Her long hair shone in the sunlight, and beads of water on her neck glistened like tiny diamonds. He leaned forward and trailed his tongue along her shoulder then neck, drinking up those diamonds. They weren’t real diamonds, but he felt like the richest man in the world with her legs around him.
“You know about Victor and Blake?” Her voice quivered, and although it was a question, her words sounded more like a statement.
He nuzzled her ear. “Yeah. But you’ve got to know. They don’t mind sharing you with me. And I’m happy that they’ve spent time with you.”
She remained quiet as he fondled her breast, rubbing his thumb against her hard nipple. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“What do you mean?” He nibbled on her chin then swept his tongue over her lips. Her lips parted as he did so, but he didn’t stop for another kiss, instead traveling on until he found the other side of her neck.
“I’ve never met any man who wanted to share like you three do. Is that because this is just a temporary thing?”
He stopped and studied her. Did she want it to be a fling? Or was she fishing for him to say it was more? Either way, he had to tell her the truth. “Blake, Victor, and I are very close, and we want a different kind of relationship. We want you for all three of us, together and separately. But this isn’t only for a week or two or even a year or two. We want more than that.”
He couldn’t tell whether it was confusion, disbelief, or an altogether different emotion crossing her face, but it didn’t matter. She’d understand soon enough. He just hoped that when it came time for her to learn all their secrets, she’d still want to be with them.
“I don’t know you, any of you. How can it be anything more?”
He slid his hand over her heart. “You know us in here, right? You can feel that you belong with us, can’t you? I don’t like using the term, but it’s kind of like love at first sight. But it’s more than that, too. The way you and Blake came together, not once, but twice, can’t be a fluke in the scheme of life. You know it’s more. All that other stuff like where you were born, what’s your favorite color, how you like your steaks is just icing on the cake.”
Jane Jamison Page 9