by Spear, Terry
He glanced back at her, considered her T-shirt plastered to her breasts, and smiled.
She chuckled and helped him get the gallons of water into the bungalow. Once they were done, he locked the door and pulled her in for a hug. “I like the wet look on you.”
She smiled and rubbed her hand on his wet shirt covering hard abs. “I like the look on you too. What are we going to do while we wait out the storm?”
“I found some board games in the cabinet underneath the TV. We can keep tuned into the weather report while we’re playing some of the games.” He set the flashlights on the table while she made them some tea and coffee.
“Oh, the big set of dominoes. Ever play chicken foot dominoes?”
“Nope. I’m game.” Tanner showed her the photo of Harold and Velvet. “I took this of them in the store. Recognize them?”
“That’s definitely Harold. I’ve never seen the woman before.”
He was glad she didn’t seem perturbed about the woman.
They set up the dominoes, then sat down to play, the wind howling outside their shuttered windows. The news was updated periodically on the TV, the lights flickering.
“Hmm,” she said, placing her double domino next to his single domino, making a “T.” She glanced at the shuttered windows. “If we lose electricity, we may have to play a different game.” Though they had enhanced night vision as wolves.
“We can. Tired of this one already?”
“No. I’m winning.”
He laughed. “We just began.”
The strength of the wind whipped everything into a frenzy. The roof started vibrating violently.
Tanner reached over, pulled Serena close, and kissed her cheek. “If it gets too bad, we can move under the stairwell. It has no windows and a narrow space that would offer the best protection.”
“We should move blankets and pillows in there now.”
“Let’s do it, to be on the safe side.”
They headed up the stairs to get the bedding, and she entered her room, while he gathered the pillows and blankets from his.
After they set up their makeshift shelter underneath the stairs, complete with bottles of water and a flashlight, they looked at it for a moment. Tanner wrapped his arms around her. “Are you ready for me to beat you at dominoes?”
She rubbed his arms, thinking of running to Harold’s cabana to see if they had gone somewhere else to ride out the storm. “What if Harold and Velvet went to a shelter?”
“Children, the sick, and the elderly have priority. Remember?”
“Right. And he’s an alpha wolf.”
“And we’re supposed to stay put during the storm.”
She sighed. “All right. Back to dominoes.”
The shutters rattled and so did the walls and roof. It was eerie sounding and gave her a chill. They settled on the couch and half watched the news as the weatherman reported the tropical storm was growing closer and picking up steam.
And then they were kissing. She wasn’t sure how it happened. But she’d blocked his next move, taking the spot where he wanted to go next with his domino, and he tackled her. She squealed, then laughed as he pinned her to the couch and began to kiss her.
She gave into the kiss, forgetting about the howling wind and rattling bungalow. About Harold and her money. This is what she’d needed in her life, and no money could buy what she was feeling for the wolf—the hot yearning, the wolfish need.
“I think I could fall for you.” She smiled up at him.
“I want to make that happen.” Tanner sounded so sure of himself, she thought he might just be right.
Then the TV and overhead light flickered and went out, plunging them into darkness.
“Time to go to our shelter,” she said.
“Agreed.” He got off her, grabbed the flashlight and the radio off the coffee table, and she slipped her arm through his.
She and Tanner couldn’t have sex or they’d be mated wolves, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t fool around. And she’d only do that with a wolf she really, really liked.
“So what do we do now?” she asked as they moved into the narrow hall.
“This small space isn’t very accommodating for games or much else.”
“We just got up, so taking a nap seems kind of silly.” She joined him on their blanket bed on the floor.
“There’s only one thing I can think of.” He smiled at her and cupped her face.
“When the lights go out…”
Tanner began to kiss her again, and the way the bungalow was rattling, she really did wonder if they were going to make it through this okay.
But then he was on top of her, whispering, “I’ll protect you.” And she knew he would do anything to make that happen.
Serena never expected to be having afternoon delight with a hot wolf, hunkered down in a makeshift shelter with a tropical storm bearing down on their location. God, how she wanted this, the hot passion erupting between them, their bodies naked and rubbing against each other.
Their kisses became more insistent as the winds became more violent. What if this was the last chance she’d ever have at making love to a wolf? And the first. But consummating the relationship would mean a mating.
Still, they stripped off their clothes, and then she concentrated on every aspect of what they were doing: his hand massaging her breast; the sexy, sea-salt smell of his skin; the way his heart beat as rapidly as hers.
He was hard—from his arousal to his toned muscles—but his mouth was soft against hers, nipping and kissing, then pressuring until his tongue came into play with hers. Their tongues teased and stroked each other’s.
Then his hand moved between her legs, and he began to stroke her clit. Her hands grasped his shoulders as she clung to sanity, her breath short. She was barely breathing as he rocked her world.
But then he rubbed his engorged cock against her mons, the aching need compelling her to grab his hips and pull him harder against her. She shouldn’t want him thrusting between her legs, but she sure as hell did. Her belly tightened, her blood on fire. He slid a finger inside her. The climax was so close, she could taste it, and then she let go and cried out with wild pleasure, right before he closed his mouth over hers again.
He rubbed his cock against her belly, her hands gliding up his arms. “Do you want me to—”
“Shhh.”
So she moved against him, her hips rising, pushing against him, until he groaned, and she felt him spill his seed on her belly.
“Sorry,” he whispered, kissing her forehead.
“Don’t be. That was amazing.” And she knew it wouldn’t end there.
* * *
The storm raged on for hours, and finally sounded like it was beginning to die down a little. Serena and Tanner cleaned up, then dressed and went into the kitchen to make tuna sandwiches, adding chips and pickles and bottled water for lunch. They listened to the radio reporting that the storm was moving onward, but the winds and rain continued to pelt the bungalow until later that night. And then it was calm, everything quieting. The storm had moved out to sea.
The electricity suddenly came back on, and they went outside to see the damage. The waves were still huge, perfect for surfing. A few palm fronds were scattered about and red tiles missing on some roofs, but no major damage that they could see.
“Looks like we made it safely through that one.”
“If we can weather a storm like that, we should be able to manage anything.” Tanner pulled her in close, resting his head on the top of hers, his arms wrapped around her waist as they looked out to sea.
“Do you want to see how their cabana fared?”
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”
They headed down the beach toward the cabanas and everything there looked fine too. “I wonder if the docks and boats are all right,”
she whispered.
“We’ll have to check the news and see what was damaged on the island. They might not report it until daylight tomorrow.”
They returned to the bungalow, and she was glad the storm was over and that at least where they were, it hadn’t been too bad. She didn’t know what they would do if the excursions Harold and Velvet were going to take were canceled for the duration of their stay here.
“At this point, I don’t see any reason for us to have separate bedrooms, do you?” Tanner asked.
She snagged his hand and hauled him up the stairs. “Wait, our pillows and blankets are still under the stairs.”
They retrieved the bedding, then he chased her up the stairs. At the top, she hesitated. “Let’s use your room.”
He looked like one satisfied wolf. She figured she looked like one too.
* * *
Early the next morning, Tanner checked Harold’s email, wanting to know if the excursions were rescheduled or not, while Serena was taking a shower.
Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, her hair still wet, she joined him, and he kissed her as if they were already a couple. “You are the perfect wolf to wake up next to in the morning, and ride out a storm with too.”
“I only screamed once.”
He laughed. “I jumped too, when I heard that big bang.”
She saw he had his laptop out and was checking emails. “What’s the verdict?”
“A few trees were down, some vehicles flipped in the high winds, some roofs were badly damaged. But the docks and boats on that side of the island are fine, and the trips were rescheduled. Harold received confirmation emails for this afternoon and tonight.”
“Yes!”
He was hoping they’d get this done and maybe skip over to one of the Sister Islands, as long as they hadn’t sustained a lot of damage. “Flights have commenced also, but the guys were delayed because of the flights getting backed up yesterday.”
“We’ll be okay.”
Tanner sure the hell hoped so. He made it through a tropical storm on a small island with the she-wolf, and he sure as hell didn’t want to lose her now.
Chapter 6
As the looming hour approached, Serena fought the nervousness she was experiencing, trying not to show it outwardly, but Tanner could smell it on her.
After hastily eating lunch, her stomach in knots, she spread her legs and arms so Tanner could spray the hunter concealer all over her, then she did the same to Tanner.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, let’s do this.” She thought he looked like he’d hoped she might have changed her mind. She wasn’t giving this up for anything.
They drove over in the rental car and parked nearby. “I’ll knock on the door to ensure they really have gone on the stringray snorkeling trip. If no one answers, I’ll use the lock pick and you can join me.”
“When he’s on trips, he always hides his laptop under the sofa.”
“All right. See you in a minute.” Tanner gave her a hug and kiss, and then he walked to the door with purpose. The cabanas were separated by vegetation, and he didn’t hear anyone about. He knocked on the door, and when no one answered, he texted Serena.
He pulled out his lock pick. As soon as he opened the door, Serena hurried to join him. “So far, so good,” he said.
But anything could go wrong.
She quickly checked underneath the floral couch, but it sat so high, it probably didn’t look like a safe place for Harold to hide his laptop. “Not here,” she whispered.
“Checking the bedroom.”
“He wouldn’t have taken it with him. Not snorkeling. So it’s got to be here somewhere.” She looked in the kitchen. “Not in here.”
He looked in the two bedrooms, smelled that both Harold and Velvet were staying together, which was no surprise there, but smelled they’d had sex here, or sexual activity. “The safe in one of the closets is too small for a laptop, unless it’s really small.”
She joined him. “I can’t imagine he would have locked it in the rental car.” She eyed the safe. “You’re right. The safe is too small for his laptop. Unless he bought a new one for traveling. I can’t figure him out. He always had plenty of money. Why would he have stolen mine?”
“Some people never have enough.”
Harold’s clothes were neatly hung up in the closet, Velvet’s piled on a chair, but Tanner noticed the suitcase behind his shoes. “In there maybe?”
Serena grabbed the mostly empty black bag and set it on the bed. An airline security–approved lock protected it. She used her own key that would work on it and the lock clicked open. After she unzipped the bag, she found a leather case, his laptop. She pulled his laptop out and set it on the desk in the bedroom.
Tanner appeared as relieved as she was that it was there. Now if she could only get into his computer. “I’ll watch for any sign of them returning,” Tanner said.
“Okay, good. I’m into his computer.”
“Anything yet?”
“He’s so predictable. He has all his bank account links set up on his toolbar for one-click access. I’m trying the variations of his passwords to see if I can—holy cow.”
“You got into one?”
“Yeah, and boy, has he got the money. I wonder how much of it he earned and how much of it he stole. Over two and a half million dollars. Why would he need my one hundred and sixty thousand?”
“Like I said, some people never have enough. It could be he has an addiction to stealing too. Gets a thrill out of the game. Why don’t you grab your money, and let’s go. Are you done yet?”
“Almost.”
Once she was done, she packed the laptop back into his suitcase, zipped, and locked it, then tucked it behind his shoes in the closet. She took one of his tennis shoes and shook it out. Then another.
“What are you looking for?” Tanner asked, glancing over his shoulder at her.
“Looking for his credit card.” She found it and stuck it in her pocket. “He’ll find it missing at some point and have to call it in to cancel it.”
“Then he can’t use it until they send him another.”
“Exactly. He doesn’t have another card and he never carries cash.”
Tanner smiled at her. “Are you done?”
“Yep.”
“Did you get your money?” he asked, hurrying her out of the cabana. They locked the door after them.
“Plus, a little extra to pay for the expense of us flying out here and the cost of the accommodations. That way it won’t look like it was me just taking back my money. It would throw him off track. I changed his passwords on the accounts too. He’ll have to prove he owns them to be able to change them himself.”
Tanner smiled at her. “I had an idea, but was waiting until we learned if we could manage this.”
“Yeah?” she asked as they returned to the rental car and got in.
“We’re already here. We can’t get a flight out to Colorado right away either. If we can get one, why don’t we take one of those thirty-minute flights to one of the smaller islands? Cayman Brac or Little Cayman? They’re quieter, but perfect for swimming, snorkeling, and running. Then we won’t have to worry about running into Harold or his girlfriend. They haven’t made any reservations to fly over there or stay there, have they?”
“No. He always has receipts for all his activities sent to his emails, and nothing’s popped up. I like the idea.”
“Okay, I’ll make reservations. First, I need to call and make sure that my brothers and cousins don’t come here.”
When they arrived home, Tanner called Devlyn and put it on speaker so Serena could listen in. “Serena’s got her money, but we can’t get a flight out for a couple of days.”
“She had no trouble getting it back at all?” Devlyn sounded surprised.
“She acce
ssed his bank accounts. We’re flying out to one of the smaller islands to stay out of the way until we can get a flight home. Just so we don’t cross paths.”
“You think you won’t need your brothers? Or our cousins for backup?”
“We should be good.”
Devlyn didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he said, “I’m sending them anyway. A few days on the beach, watching your backs, and then you can all return home.”
Tanner wanted to groan out loud. All his brothers and cousins were bachelor wolves, and he knew, though they would be eager to watch out for him and Serena, they would also be vying for her attention. She might have wanted to experiment with Tanner, but it didn’t mean she had decided to mate him. Yet.
But Devlyn was right. Better to be safe than sorry, though Serena and he could leave about the time the others arrived. Maybe they’d hang around a little longer, then.
“All right.”
“Everything else going all right?”
Tanner thought his cousin meant about how he was getting along with Serena. “We’re doing great. I need to make reservations for the other island. We’ll let you know how things are going a little later.”
“Okay, stay safe.”
When they ended the call, Tanner made reservations for a flight and accommodations to Cayman Brac. “Two hundred feet of sandy beachfront, four bedroom, three and a half bath villa. That will be enough room for the four guys, you, and me. We can enjoy the botanical gardens, Rum Point, blow holes, restaurants, and of course all the swimming we’d like.” Tanner wished the guys could stay somewhere else but he knew they wouldn’t. How could they protect them if they were at some other location? Though Tanner really didn’t believe they needed protection.
“Sounds great. I’m going up to pack. When are we leaving?”
“As soon as we get packed. We’ll head on over to the airport.”
“Do you have a pair of scissors?”
“For a credit card?” Tanner smiled at her. “He should never have messed with you. Here I thought you were going to need me.”