by Raina Wilde
Then, with a quickness she had never seen before in her life, the coyote turned and charged at her. She screamed and raised her arms. The only thing she remembered before passing out was a searing pain as the coyote sunk his teeth into one of her arms.
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Evita woke in a hospital to the reassuring steady beep and whir of machines. There were hushed voices around her, and when she opened her eyes she saw a nurse attending a patient beside her who was hidden by a curtain. She turned her head to the other side and saw Shane. He was slumped in a chair beside her bed, sleeping. She reached out and touched his leg.
"You're awake," he whispered, and smiled at her.
"What happened?" she asked.
Shane looked up at the nurse in the room and then back down at Evita. She knew he couldn't tell the truth when there were other people in the room. Finally the nurse left, and Shane kept his voice low.
"You were on the trail, and the coyotes surrounded you. Do you remember that?" he asked. Evita nodded.
"And I came out, and..." he trailed off. Evita nodded again to say she remembered that much.
"One of the coyotes charged. I think he could tell I was protective of you and did it to spite me. He got your arm pretty bad. I pulled him off and..." Shane didn't finish, and Evita wasn't sure she wanted him to.
"When they were gone I changed back, into a human, and just a few seconds after I did some hikers came around the bend. They were running, they must have heard you scream. I was naked," Shane laughed. "I made up some story about how I was bathing in a stream nearby when I heard the commotion. I think they bought it." Evita laughed, but the movement hurt her whole body.
"Isaac is gone," she said after a moment.
Shane nodded, looking at his feet. "He'll be back," he said, and when he looked up at Evita his eyes were pained.
"We'll be ready," she whispered.
Shane looked doubtful. The doctor bustled into the room, interrupting them. Shane squeezed her hand and left the room.
Three weeks later Evita was finally released from the hospital. She hadn't seen Shane since that day she woke up, and she figured he had chosen to keep hiding. When she got home her house smelled stale and unused, and she threw all of the windows open and spent the afternoon cleaning. Her arm was still tender and wrapped, the doctors said it might not ever be the same. For now field-work was out of the question, she would have to hire an assistant. She was to keep office hours to a minimum and only handle small animals as to not exert too much pressure on her wound.
After the house was clean she sat on the back porch with a steaming cup of tea and a book. It was Halloween, and the leaves had mostly fallen from the trees. She didn't expect any trick-or-treaters since her house was so secluded, but she had a bowl of candy ready regardless. Evita lost herself in the novel with a wool blanket pulled up to her shoulders. She had been on the porch for an hour when she heard a noise at the door. She got up and grabbed the bowl of candy, expecting a group of children in costumes. When she opened the door she saw a large figure with a bear mask on. She gasped and stepped back, still skittish from the encounter with the coyotes. But the bear had begun to laugh. He pulled off the mask and it was Shane, smiling down at her.
"You scared me half to death!" she cried.
"Oh, wouldn't want to do that," he replied and stepped inside. He pulled her in close for a kiss, tenderly holding her so he wouldn't hurt her arm. She looked up into his eyes and kissed him, so deeply and passionately it was as if her life depended on it. He picked her up easily and carried her to the bedroom, where he gently undressed her, kissing her skin as he exposed it. She shivered at the touch of his lips. He lay her down on the bed, drinking in the sight of her. The way Shane looked at her, with such love and longing, took Evita's breath away. In that moment she knew they were tied together for eternity. He pushed inside her and she gasped with pleasure. Shane gently made love to her, holding and caressing her body until she screamed and writhed in pleasure. Afterward, they lay tangled in the blankets, sneaking kisses between hushed whispers about what each of them did in those few months they were apart.
"So you're staying?" she asked finally.
"Do I have a choice?" he replied with a smile.
"No," she said, and kissed him.
"Well, that's settled then," he kissed her back.
They lay in bed together in the darkness, Evita happier than she had ever been, but still apprehensive at the thought that Isaac might return. She thought of the gun tucked away in her bedside table, and knew she would do anything—anything—to keep Shane in her life. She snuggled closer to him, and felt his arms wrap around her. She closed her eyes and slept.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
By day she is a loving wife and a respected working mother. But when the sun sets and the shades are drawn she becomes Raina Wilde, the devilishly naughty romance writer with an insatiable appetite for lustful tales.
With a flair for pulse-quickening romance that will leave you shaking and breathless, Ms. Wilde always makes sure to leave her readers with a happy ending.
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