The knowledge gave her a sense of power, but it also made her quiver inside. Against all odds, she wanted him, too, despite whom he was and what he stood for. He was her physical type, as evidenced by the fact he looked like the TV actor she liked. But it would be foolish to get involved. She could easily compromise her campaign for HOWL.
Moving faster, she taped each side of the window, but she couldn’t reach the top. “I need to stand up to finish. Watch out for your chin.”
“All clear.”
She stood slowly to make sure she didn’t clip his jaw with her head. Once she was upright, she found herself effectively caged between his outstretched arms. For the second time tonight she was being embraced by Duncan MacDowell.
Although breathing had become more difficult, she tried for nonchalance as she ripped off a piece of tape and smoothed it quickly against the window frame. “Well, isn’t this cozy?”
“Bloody inconvenient,” he murmured.
“I know.” She deliberately chose to misunderstand because she wasn’t ready to admit what was happening between them. Maybe if they ignored it, the tension would go away. “I didn’t intend for us to get stuck here, and I’m sorry.” She slapped on some more tape.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it, lass.”
So he wasn’t going to let her sidestep the issue. She struggled to stay calm as she put on the last piece of tape. “You can let go now,” she said quietly.
“Not yet.”
“But we’re all finish—” She gasped and dropped the tape as he took her by the shoulders and turned her around.
“No, we’re not quite finished.” And his mouth came down on hers.
Chapter 3
Sniffer Update: @newshound—WereCon2012 attendees ask—where’s Duncan MacDowell? His flight came, but he’s AWOL. So is Kate Stillman! #intriguedeveloping
Duncan knew in advance he’d regret this kiss…eventually. But the moment his lips found Kate’s, he didn’t give a damn about anything except the velvety taste of her ripe mouth. He wanted this kiss, needed it with a desperation that drove him to pull her hard against his throbbing body.
She was every bit as delicious as he’d been imagining she would be, and besides, she was kissing him back. With a groan he shifted the angle and took the kiss deeper. He stroked his tongue against hers and felt her shiver in reaction.
God, but this was good. Of course it would be. She was such an expert in Were sex that she’d written a book about it. Reading her book on the plane had been a tactical error, but he couldn’t unread it, and many of her descriptions were burned into his brain.
As a result, her kiss drove him crazy. Wrapping his arms around the soft angora sweater, he envisioned pulling it over her head. He could have it off in a split second. And then…as he fell deeper into lustful scenarios, he imagined a soundtrack providing background music, as if they were in a movie. Oh, yes, wild music with a strong beat fit with this moment, this incredibly hot…
But for some reason she’d stopped kissing him and was squirming in his arms, and not in a sensuous way. “My phone. It’s my phone.”
Gradually he returned to the world of blizzards, political differences, and ringing cell phones. He was disappointed that her kiss hadn’t made him hear music, after all. But it had been one hell of a kiss, in spite of that detail.
She extricated herself without a lot of help from him, because he really hated to lose the connection with her warm body and that erotically soft sweater. But as the significance of the ringing phone penetrated his passion-drenched mind, he realized they should have called the resort the minute they’d finished taping the window. Someone might be worried about them.
Or maybe a towing company had a free truck available and was about to come and rescue them from the snowdrift. As he listened to the apologetic way Kate was talking on the phone she’d pulled out of her purse, he gathered it wasn’t a towing company. Someone, probably her grandmother, wanted to know why they hadn’t arrived yet.
In point of fact, they hadn’t been free to call until moments ago, when the immediate problems had been solved. He shouldn’t feel guilty that he’d delayed that call by less than five minutes. Yet if the phone hadn’t rung, the delay might have been longer.
Yes, much longer. Their recent discussion about condoms had reminded him that Weres could have sex whenever they chose to without worrying about birth control. The Were culture celebrated sexual pleasure and encouraged teenage Weres to explore and experiment.
Because their species was naturally disease-resistant, they didn’t have to worry about that issue, and no male Were could make a female pregnant unless he’d officially claimed her as his mate. Neither could he impregnate a human female who wasn’t his chosen mate, but explaining that to a woman would mean revealing his Were nature.
He couldn’t do that in today’s political climate. But when Weres could be open about their biology, then he would no longer have to pretend that he needed condoms when he had sex with a human female. Despite what he’d told Kate, he wasn’t totally enamored with condoms.
She was correct that sex without them was the most satisfying kind. And while he’d been kissing her, he’d yearned for that kind of satisfaction. He really shouldn’t have read her book on the plane. Very stupid move.
Running a hand over his face, he encountered the bristle of a day-old beard. He hoped he hadn’t given her razor burn. It wasn’t a nice thing to do, and in addition to that, he didn’t want anyone at the convention to know that he’d been kissing her.
Even for a Were given to spontaneous behavior, which he was, that kiss had been…possibly the most foolish thing he’d done in a long while. And that was saying something.
While she talked on the phone, he found the trash can and dumped the dustpan full of glass. Then he located the thermostat and turned the heat up a bit. They might not be here long, so he hated to use more than they had to, but now that he wasn’t holding Kate, he felt the chill.
Then he remembered his own phone, which he’d tucked into an inner pocket of his overcoat. The charger was in his suitcase, which was in her vehicle, so once he’d checked for messages, he needed to power it down.
None of the e-mails needed immediate attention except one from his brother, Colin, who’d stayed in Scotland with his mate, Luna. A year ago Colin might not have trusted Duncan to represent the MacDowell pack at this conference. They’d butted heads constantly on Duncan’s views on Were-human interaction.
But thanks to Colin’s love for his half-blood mate, he’d revised his opinions considerably. After all, a human-Were mating had produced Luna, the light of his life. Colin had even given Duncan permission to tell their story in Duncan’s book, Down with Dogma: Benefits of Were-Human Cooperation. So now all Colin wanted was reassurance that Duncan had arrived safely in Denver.
He sent a quick reply letting Colin know that all was well. It wasn’t, exactly, and his brother would shake his head in dismay if he knew that Duncan had allowed himself to get too friendly with Kate Stillman, whose rigid views directly opposed his campaign.
But Duncan believed he could contain that misstep. He’d apologize, back off, and control the damage. No one ever had to know besides him and Kate, and she certainly wouldn’t want word to spread, either.
Because she was still on the phone, he checked his Sniffer feed. Woofers who couldn’t attend the Denver conference had gathered at various locations for their own miniconferences. His followers were an enthusiastic bunch, but he hoped they wouldn’t stoop to sabotaging her Furthebest Web site.
Although he’d promised Kate that no Woofer would hack into her site in order to disrupt it, privately he couldn’t be sure. He’d never admit that to her, but she was smart enough to know that he couldn’t guarantee all his followers were law-abiding Weres. Any movement had a fringe element.
He sent out a quick Sniff saying he’d been temporarily delayed but should be at the conference site shortly. Then he turned off his phone, tu
cked it back inside his topcoat, and took a look around the cabin. No walls blocked the kitchen from the living area, which included an upholstered sofa and two overstuffed chairs, all covered in a Native American print.
The furniture had been arranged to face the far wall, which included bookshelves, a stone fireplace, and a flat-screen television tucked into a custom niche. He resisted the urge to pick up the remote from its holder on the bookshelf. He was an intruder, not an invited guest.
On the other hand, if they ended up here longer than an hour or so, he might need that television as a necessary distraction from Kate. Besides, they’d reimburse the owners for any electricity used. A little TV watching wasn’t going to add much to the bill.
Wandering to the kitchen window and looking out the unbroken upper half, he saw nothing but snow coming down hard and fast. Intuition told him they might not get out of this cabin tonight. About the time he came to that conclusion, Kate ended her call and glanced over at him.
“We won’t be going anywhere for a while,” she said. “My grandmother’s been watching the news, and several pileups on the interstate have stretched the city’s resources to the breaking point. They’re asking that anyone who’s not in an emergency situation hold tight until morning.”
“I suppose that would be us.” The potent energy created by their kiss remained in the air, a tantalizing shimmer that could get them into trouble again if they weren’t careful.
He decided to address the problem immediately. “I need to apologize for what just happened before the phone call. I shouldn’t have done it, and I can promise you that such a thing won’t be repeated.”
She nodded. “Good, because if Angela Sapworthy ever got wind of something like that, we would both be—”
“Unable to effectively lead. I know. Our followers would doubt our dedication to the cause if they thought we were overly friendly, and they’d be justified in that. I take full responsibility for the incident, but I would appreciate keeping it strictly between us.”
“You won’t find me telling anyone. But I won’t allow you to take full responsibility. I could have pushed you away.”
He couldn’t let himself off the hook that easily. “I was the initiator, and I don’t see how you can be blamed for simply responding.”
Her eyes widened. “What an ego you have, Duncan MacDowell!”
He blinked, completely taken aback by her statement. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but that comment of yours implies that once you initiate a sexual encounter, it’s a done deal. Assuming a phone doesn’t ring, of course, which it happened to do in this case.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, confused as to why she was so irritated. “In my dealings with females, it usually is a done deal, as you say. We were headed for a wee bit more than a kiss, and I don’t think, in all honesty, that you can deny it.”
Her rapid breathing stirred her breasts beneath that soft black sweater. “I won’t deny it, but that was because, at that very moment, I wanted sex as much as you did. If I hadn’t, then I would have stopped you from continuing.”
Watching that sweater move was slowly killing him. He focused on her blue eyes instead. “That would have been a new experience for me.”
Her mouth opened, forming a perfect pink O of surprise. “No one’s ever refused your advances?”
“Not that I can recall.”
“Oh, my God. No wonder.” She continued to stare at him but said no more.
“No wonder what?” He had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer, but she couldn’t leave her comment dangling like that.
“You’re so…no, I shouldn’t say it. We need to remain civil to each other. We’re quite likely trapped together for the rest of the night.”
“Either you finish that sentence, or I’ll have to retract my statement about your forthright attitude. You’ve never pulled your punches online, Kate, so why do it now?”
“Because we’re face-to-face. Of course everything’s different when you’re actually looking at each other.”
“Then close your eyes and pretend you’re typing your response.”
“That’s the coward’s way out.”
“So be brave.”
“All right.” She took a deep breath.
And he wished she hadn’t, because she had magnificent breasts and they heaved with a beauty that he couldn’t seem to ignore.
“Okay, here we go.” She looked him straight in the eye. “No wonder you’re so arrogant and sure of yourself. No female has ever rejected you. That’s astonishing. Yes, you’re very good-looking, and I will concede that you have a certain amount of sexual charisma, but…never? Seriously?”
“Well, there was one time when I thought the lass wanted me to stop, but it turns out I was mistaken, so we went on to have a very satisfactory time of it.”
“Incredible.”
“But I’d hate to think my successes have made me arrogant.”
“Why else would you insist on taking the blame for making me forget myself just now? Rest assured that if I hadn’t wanted to be seduced, no seduction would have taken place. I don’t care how good a kisser you are.”
“But you did want to be seduced.” He shouldn’t emphasize that point. He should let the entire matter drop. But she’d accused him of arrogance, and he needed some balm for that wound.
She gazed at him without speaking for several seconds. Then she cleared her throat. “Yes, I did, past tense. I no longer do.”
“Are you sure?” Because he wasn’t. Her eyes told a different story.
“Let me put it this way. We seem to have chemistry, which, as you mentioned earlier, is damned inconvenient. So although I might still want you, I don’t wish for you to seduce me. I lost focus while we were working on the window together. I won’t lose focus again.”
“Good. That’s very good. All we have to do is get through the night. Then tomorrow we’ll be caught up in the conference and that should take care of…everything.”
“Yes.” She consulted the time on her phone. “It’s a little after six. We only have twelve hours or so, and if we’re smart, we’ll spend part of that time sleeping.”
“Separately.”
“Extremely separately. We should also eat something. While I was looking through the cupboards, I noticed they’ve left some canned food here. But I’d like to contact the Stewarts before we dive into their supply.”
“I don’t know how you’re going to do that. Why would they leave their number somewhere? They don’t need to. They know what it is.”
“I realize that.” Tapping her phone against her chin, she began to roam the kitchen, opening drawers, sorting through whatever she found there. “Here we go.” She pulled a small booklet out of one of the drawers. “It’s an address and phone book. They won’t be in here, but friends will. I’ll call around until I get the number.”
“They’ll simply give it to you?”
She looked surprised that he’d ask. “The Stillman name is very well-known in Denver, so if I pick somebody local, no worries. It would be the same as you using the MacDowell name back in…what’s the name of your little town?”
“I bide in Glenbarra.”
“Right. I’m sure the MacDowell name opens doors in Glenbarra. Besides, I don’t have to tell the friend that we broke in. I can just say there’s a problem with the cabin and I need to get in touch with Bob and Edith.” She flipped a page in the address book, but then she glanced up. “While I’m doing this, I wish you would please soak your feet in that turkey roaster.”
“It seems I won’t need to be soaking my feet, after all.”
“Of course you will. You said yourself they were cold.”
“They were. But they’re not now.”
“Why not?”
He smiled at her. “That kiss warmed me all the way down to my toes, lass.”
Kate took one look at that smile and quickly began studying the address book as if it co
ntained the secrets of the universe. Now that he’d made that comment, she realized her feet weren’t cold anymore, either. In fact, not a single cell in her body was cold.
Earlier she’d watched him cross to the thermostat and turn up the heat, but that had nothing to do with the warmth that had spread through her system. The next twelve hours were going to be a huge challenge. Ironically, although she ran a dating site, she hadn’t used it herself in months. Organizing HOWL and writing her book had taken up every bit of her spare time.
Being tucked away with a virile Were like Duncan had reminded her of what she’d been missing. In some ways, even though their interaction had been at a distance until today, he was the male she’d had the most significant contact with recently. Her attraction to him wasn’t at all surprising, even given their differences.
But she was strong enough to subdue her urges. She had to be. Taking several calming breaths, she searched the names and addresses in the little book until she found one that looked promising. Someone, probably Edith, had scribbled names of the couple’s grandchildren in the margin, so they must be good friends.
Sure enough, the woman who answered was eager to help and supplied a phone number for the Stewarts immediately. Kate thanked her and punched in the number. All the while she was aware of Duncan sweeping glass and using paper towels to soak up water on the hardwood floor. He’d taken off his shoes and socks and she needed to follow his lead so she wouldn’t track any more water around.
Sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, she began unlacing one boot as she waited for someone to answer the phone. But it was hard to unlace one-handed. Sticking the phone between her ear and her shoulder, she tackled the laces again and managed to get a stubborn knot in the left boot.
About that time Edith answered the phone, and Kate temporarily gave up on the knot. “Hello, Edith, it’s Kate Stillman calling from Colorado.”
“Kate! We saw on the news about the blizzard and it looks just awful. Are you calling about the cabin? Please say it’s okay.”
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