Werewolf in Denver

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “That depends on how much I allow you to see.” She hadn’t meant that to be a sexual comment, but it sure sounded that way once she’d said it.

  His smile widened. “I’m very good at uncovering whatever interests me.”

  There was that sexual quiver again. She ignored it. “Considering that we’re on opposite sides of this debate, I can’t imagine I’d be of any interest to you.”

  “On the contrary. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying—Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

  “I’ve heard it.” But never spoken with a Scottish brogue.

  “Is that why you came to pick me up?”

  “No.” She finally settled on the truth. “I’m here because my grandmother asked me to come. She thought the gesture would disarm you.”

  “Oh, it has.” His gray eyes took on a wicked gleam. “It most certainly has.”

  “Bullshit.”

  He laughed. “I’m not kidding. As tired as I am, I’m easily disarmed, which might have been your grandmother’s plan.”

  “Maybe.” Kate decided the time for chitchat was over. “We need to get your bags and leave before the snow gets any worse.”

  “Aye.” Turning, he surveyed the luggage circling the carousel. He walked over, retrieved his suitcase with athletic grace, and returned to her. “Ready.”

  He must have been tired, because she managed to talk him into waiting inside the building while she brought the Jeep around.

  Once they were on their way, he peered past the flapping windshield wipers at the snow that seemed flung by a giant hand. He looked slightly worried. “I’m not sure it’s safe to drive in this. Perhaps we should stop somewhere and wait it out.”

  “We’ll be fine.” She wasn’t about to admit that the snowstorm had become nasty enough to intimidate even her. “I’m used to snowy conditions.”

  “If you say so.” Leaning his head against the headrest, he closed his eyes.

  “I wanted to alert you that someone hacked into the Furthebest Web site today, and I—” A soft snore brought her up short. She glanced over at him and sure enough, he had fallen asleep that quickly.

  Impressed with his ability to surrender control, Kate drove slowly and kept to the plowed sections of the highway. Traffic thinned once they were outside the city limits, and she began to wonder if she’d made the right call. Hers were the only headlights taking the exit road to the resort. And she had several miles yet to go.

  Turning back wasn’t an option, because the roads were getting worse and she’d have a problem retracing her path, too. As long as she moved slowly and didn’t hit a patch of ice, they’d get there. She’d always been lucky driving on snowy roads.

  But not this time. When the skid started, she did everything she’d been taught so they wouldn’t flip, but nothing could have prevented them from plowing into a snowbank, nose first.

  The impact woke Duncan, who sat up, startled. “What happened?”

  She sighed. “We’re stuck.”

  “Can we get out?”

  The wind whistled as snow swirled around the Jeep and blocked the view. “I don’t know. Maybe not.”

  Duncan shook his head to clear the fog of sleep from his brain. “Let’s have a look, shall we?” He reached for the door handle.

  “Hang on. Let me try to back it up and see what happens. Maybe we’ll scoot right out.” She put the SUV in reverse and tromped on the gas. The motor whined and the wheels spun like crazy, but they didn’t move an inch.

  She let up on the gas and stared out at the driving snow. “Or not.”

  “I’ll see what’s going on out there.” Once again Duncan grasped the door handle.

  “You can stand out in the blizzard and assess the situation if that makes you happy, but I’ve lived in this area all my life and I can guarantee that we won’t be getting out of here without a tow truck.”

  He glanced over at Kate. She looked so blasted sweet with her long blond hair and big blue eyes, but he knew better after a summer of trading barbed comments on the Internet. In the interest of getting to know his enemy, he’d decided to read her book, Sex and the Single Shifter: A Guide to Ultimate Satisfaction, on his e-reader during the long plane ride.

  Kate was about as sweet as a dram of Dewar’s. And like that most excellent whisky, she had the potential to addle his brain, and that would be unfortunate. If he’d been lucky, her likeness on the Internet would have turned out to be Photoshopped and her real self would be homely as a hedgerow. Instead she was bonnier than the heather in full bloom.

  A blond goddess who’d written a book about sexual satisfaction would tempt any male almost beyond endurance, but he couldn’t afford to be tempted. Any weakness in that area could compromise his goals. His followers expected him to stay strong, and he would. He would.

  Still, he was fighting the effects of jet lag, and he had trouble not staring at her. She looked adorable in her red leather jacket and furry cap. “You know the lay of the land better than I do,” he said. “If we need a tow, then perhaps you should call for one.”

  “Exactly.” Pulling off her black leather gloves, she reached for the phone in a holder on the dash, tapped on it, and held it to her ear. After listening for several moments, she frowned. “Automatic message. They’re flooded with requests. Let me call another company.”

  Duncan watched her growing frustration as she tried various avenues to arrange for a tow. When she swore softly under her breath, he couldn’t help smiling. She must hate getting herself stuck with him as her passenger.

  At last she put the phone in its holder with a sigh of resignation. “I’ve left messages, but this sudden snowstorm has created emergencies all over the area.” She pulled on her gloves and peered out the window. “It’s getting worse out there. I can’t risk having another vehicle from the resort get stuck while trying to rescue us, so I’m not calling them.”

  “How far to the lodge?”

  “Way too far, if you’re suggesting we walk it. Being so remote means we’re blessed with privacy, but bad weather makes the resort almost inaccessible.”

  “What if we shifted into Were form and went cross-country?” He didn’t think she’d go for that because they’d have to take off their clothes first. Now, there was a concept that would test his determination to resist his cravings. But if the alternative was sitting in the vehicle all night, they might have to consider it.

  “If I thought we could make it up there easily as wolves, then I’d agree to shift, but we’d have a nasty slog that might not turn out well. Still, we can’t sit here indefinitely while we wait for somebody to call us back. Folks freeze to death doing that.”

  “Wouldn’t that make a juicy story for Angela Sapworthy?”

  Kate let out a martyred sigh. “She’s at the resort, you know.”

  “I assumed she would be. She promised to be the eyes, ears, and nose for her faithful readers.”

  “She’s been good for attendance, so I shouldn’t complain, but if I have to read one more reference to the virility of the Wallace brothers, or—”

  “The virility of Duncan MacDowell?” he added helpfully.

  “Yes, she does go on about you in a rather nauseating fashion.”

  “I quite like it.”

  “I’m not surprised.”

  This was more fun than typing comments on the Internet because he could see her reaction. She developed a cute little jut to her chin when she was irritated. “So, my devastating charm aside, how are we going to extricate ourselves from this cock-up you’ve got us into?”

  “What do you mean, the cock-up I got us into? It’s very ungentlemanly of you to imply it was my fault.”

  “If not you, then who? It wasn’t me, I can tell you that much.”

  “It wasn’t me, either! It was…well, my grandmother suggested this, but I can’t blame her for the weather. So I guess it’s Mother Nature’s fault.”

  “And…so? What are we going to do?”

  “I’
ve been thinking about that. Right before we spun out, we passed a turnoff to a cabin. I think we should take our phones and go there. If they’re home, they’ll give us shelter. If they’re not, we’ll break in and wait for a towing company to call back.”

  “Break in? I don’t know your local laws, but won’t that get us arrested?”

  “Not in an emergency like this. Besides, I’ve met the owners. They’re Edith and Bob Stewart, and Bob helped me change a tire when I had a flat on this road last summer.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’ll be happy if we break into his house.”

  “Seriously, he’d understand. Mountain people help each other out like that. This is a summer home, so they’re probably not here, but if we can find a number for them, we’ll call and tell them what we’ve done and explain that we’ll repair any damage involved in breaking in.”

  He peered at her in the growing darkness. “Have you ever broken into a residence before?”

  “No, but I’ve seen it done.”

  “You were an accomplice to a break-in?”

  She blew out a breath. “No. I’ve seen it done in the movies. It looked easy.”

  “Kate, it was a movie. Of course it looked easy! They used fake glass the actors could easily break or left a door unlocked so the actors could supposedly use a credit card. I’m sure these people have battened down the hatches on their cabin before leaving so no one can break in, at least not without great effort.”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “Unfortunately not.” Out of necessity, he started thinking like a burglar. “Do you have a torch?”

  “Of course not! Why would I carry a torch around? This is the twenty-first century. We use flashlights.”

  “Sorry. I meant flashlight. We call them torches in Scotland.”

  “Oh. I vaguely remember that, now that you mention it.”

  He smiled to himself. “From the movies?”

  “Smart-ass.” She opened a compartment between the two front bucket seats. “Yes, I have a flashlight.” She pulled it out and switched it on.

  “Hey, not in the eyes, please.” He put a hand on the flashlight and directed it downward so it wasn’t blinding him.

  “Whoops. My bad.” She stuck the light under her chin. “What does this make you think of?”

  “Blair Witch Project. Which, by the way, isn’t a comforting thought as we venture into the cold, snowy woods.” But he laughed in spite of himself. He shouldn’t allow himself to be so entertained by her.

  “It’s only a movie, Duncan.” She mimicked his former patronizing tone. “They made all that up on purpose to scare you. It wasn’t real.”

  “Touché.”

  “Thanks.” She marked an imaginary line in the air with one gloved finger. “Score one for Stillman.”

  He let that pass. “So we have a flashlight, which we can use to see what the bloody hell we’re doing. Do you have a tire iron?”

  “Wow, you’re gearing up to break some serious glass, aren’t you?”

  “If we’re going to hike over there, we might as well go prepared to get in.”

  She studied him for a moment. “I’m thinking you might have done this before, Duncan MacDowell.”

  “If you must know, my brother and I locked ourselves out of the castle one night. It was late, and we couldn’t rouse any of the servants, so in order to get in, we—”

  “You locked yourselves out of the castle and couldn’t rouse the servants? You say that so casually, like everyone lives that way.”

  “I don’t think much about it, really. Is it so different from you living at the resort? You must have staff working there.”

  “We do, but we don’t call them servants. We call them employees and most of them live elsewhere. I think it is different. You’re like a prince or something.”

  “Nope. No title. My brother, Colin, has the title—Laird of Glenbarra. I’m just the lowly second son who’s a bit of a renegade.”

  “And who knows how to break into a castle. Why were you giving me an argument before? This cabin will be easy pickings for you.”

  “It’s one thing to break into your own place and quite another to break into somebody else’s. So do you have a tire iron or not?”

  “I’ll take it from the back once we get out.”

  “Then I guess it’s time to become criminals.” He pulled on his black leather gloves, which were oddly appropriate for breaking and entering. Then he wound his wool scarf around his neck and turned up his collar. “I’ll meet you round back and we’ll go from there.” He opened the door and snow hit him in the face. “Bollocks! It’s cold out there!”

  “Wait a minute.” She grabbed his arm. “Do you have a hat in your suitcase?”

  “No, but I’ll be fine. I have gloves and a scarf. Let’s go.”

  “What about boots?”

  He closed the door again. “You mean rubbers?”

  “Over here we call them condoms, but that wasn’t my question.” She grinned at him, an imp in a furry hat.

  He had the most powerful urge to grab her and kiss that saucy smile right off her face. Bad impulse. Instead he lifted his gaze to the ceiling and sighed dramatically. “I have no boots, as you call them.” Then he turned to her. “And I saw no need to pack condoms, either.”

  “And that’s another point!” She wagged her finger at him. “If you have Were-Were sex, you don’t need those things, either to prevent pregnancy or disease. It’s an elegant system. But when you consort with humans, you have to put on a—”

  “Spare me the sex education, Kate.” Damn it, she almost seemed to be testing him to see if he’d snap. He was too close for comfort. “And for the record, condoms can be sexy, too.”

  Her cheeks turned pink, but she came right back at him. “I don’t believe you. I can’t imagine how putting a latex gizmo on your penis can be anything but uncomfortable and ridiculous. As for the female, how horrifying to see something covered in latex coming at you like some alien creature! Ick!”

  Time to end this discussion before he did something he would be sorry for, something that his followers might view as consorting with the enemy. “As they say in the USA, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Ready to go burgle this cabin, lass?” Opening the passenger door, he stepped into a snowdrift at least two feet deep and cursed.

  At least now he wouldn’t have to worry about the erection he’d been trying to control. Five seconds of standing in a snowdrift had taken care of that quite nicely.

  Chapter 2

  Sniffer Update: @newshound—Blizzard conditions in Denver! Hunky Aidan and Roarke Wallace on site! Duncan MacDowell due any minute! #werecon2012

  “Oh, God, he’s out.” When Kate realized Duncan was determined to brave the snowdrifts without boots or hat, she swung into action. He might be part of the enemy camp, but if he caught cold or disappeared in the storm because she hadn’t taken care of him, Grandma Elizabeth would not be pleased.

  Grabbing her purse and the flashlight, she opened her door and hopped out, too. Then she gasped as the cold and snow enveloped her. She’d worn her best leather jacket and a warm hat, but this kind of cold penetrated all but the most serious outerwear.

  She hadn’t expected to trudge through snowdrifts, so her outfit was designed to be cute and stylish instead of blizzard-worthy. Even her boots were suede lace-ups instead of vinyl, but they were better than Duncan’s dress shoes. He would be miserable until they got inside the cabin.

  “Are you coming?” Duncan called from the back of the Jeep. “It’s a wee bit nippy out here!”

  “On my way!” Activating the flashlight, she soon discovered it wasn’t much help. It lit up the incoming snowflakes beautifully, turning her surroundings into a psychedelic light show. But once she and Duncan reached the cabin, they’d need the flashlight. Rounding the back of the Jeep, she found Duncan stomping his feet and flapping his arms to stay warm.

  “Here, take my hat, at least.” She pulled off her fur hat and
handed it to him.

  He shook his head, which was already dusted with snow. “I’m secure in my masculinity, but not that secure. Let’s get the tire iron and go.”

  “All right. Your choice.” She tugged the hat back over her ears and opened the back of the Jeep. Taking the tire iron out of its storage niche, she handed it to him. “You’ll be in charge of that.”

  “Aye.”

  “We’re going to follow our tire tracks back to the driveway. There’s a rural mailbox beside the road. It’ll be easy to find.” She hoped to hell it would be, because her face felt frozen in place. She was afraid if she tried to smile, her cheeks would crack. “Follow me.”

  “Right.”

  The flashlight worked a little better if she pointed it at her feet, so she was able to distinguish the SUV’s tire tracks without too much trouble. They’d spun out only a few yards from the driveway leading to the cabin, but the howling wind and blowing snow made the walk seem longer than that. She couldn’t hear Duncan’s footsteps, and after going several paces, she worried that he might not be behind her, after all.

  When she stopped to look over her shoulder, he ran smack into her. With a cry of alarm, she started to go down. Instantly his arm came around her, breast-high, and hauled her against him to prevent the fall.

  “Try signaling next time.” His warm breath tickled her neck and his body created a firm support for her back.

  She’d been in worse positions than being steadied by the muscular arm of a handsome Scotsman who lived in a freaking castle. She tried not to be entranced by that, but she wasn’t succeeding. She’d spent too much time watching Cinderella as a little girl to be able to ignore the castle connection.

  His grip loosened slightly, as if giving her room to breathe, but he didn’t let go. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, thanks.” In the swirling whiteness of the storm, he was a warm, reassuring presence. A darned sexy one, too. Her body reacted with surprising alacrity to his casual touch. “I stopped because I was afraid you might not be behind me.”