A Touch of Class

by Bianca D’Arc

  She resolved to trust that Sheriff Shane wouldn’t go too far with whatever he decided to do. So far, he’d seemed pretty reasonable about everything—even finding her trespassing and in more trouble than she realized. He’d been pretty damned decent about that whole situation, and for some reason she didn’t fully understand, she felt safe with him.

  “Okay. I’ll be in the car, ready to roll.” She turned back toward the vehicle.

  “Give me ten minutes and then split if I don’t come back out. Leave right away if you see anyone else. Go directly to the sheriff’s office and talk to the deputy on duty. Tell him you suspect Russ and Jon broke into your house and that I went in after them and didn’t come out. He’ll know how to deal with this.”

  She nodded and left, noting that he waited until she was in the car before he headed into the house. He moved swiftly and smoothly, his animal traits showing through, even in his human form. She held her breath, watching her surroundings carefully as the clock ticked.

  It was only a little over five minutes until Shane reappeared, looking grim. He jogged back to the car and rested his hands on the roll bar, leaning in from the passenger side to meet her gaze.

  “Somebody was in there,” he told her quickly. “They broke a few things—particularly the locks on all the doors and windows. There’s no way to secure the house for the night now.”

  Maria felt faint for a moment. She gripped the steering wheel hard while she tried to process what he was saying.

  “Was it them? Those two men? Is there any way you can tell for sure?” She wanted their heads on a platter if those two assholes were responsible for violating her home. She made herself get out of the car and walk toward the open doorway to see for herself what had been done to her sanctuary. Shane was right beside her.

  “It was them,” he confirmed in a gruff voice. “I can promise you that I’ll resolve this problem. One way or another.” Now, that sounded ominous, but she couldn’t dwell on what his solution might involve.

  She was too busy taking in the broken glass and shattered doorframe. The bastards had made it impossible for her to feel safe in the home where she’d always felt welcome and loved.

  “I want them to bleed,” she said, surprising herself with the bloodthirsty words. “How dare they?”

  Outrage filled her body, and she was trembling when Shane’s strong arm settled around her shoulders. He gave her a squeeze that somehow communicated understanding and concern. Did he really care that she was upset?

  “They’ll pay for this. I promise you. But, for right now, it looks like we’ll need to find you another place to sleep tonight. Go fill an overnight bag.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Shane had no idea what he was going to do with the professor. He only knew she couldn’t stay in that vandalized house tonight. He had a vague thought of stashing her in a hotel down by the interstate, but that was almost as bad. No one from the Pack would be out that way to keep an eye on her, and he had duties in town and all around the Pack’s territory.

  What he really wanted to do was take her home. Oh, how he wanted to do that! But that was a dangerous path and could end in disaster for them both. He wasn’t ready to settle down, even if she was his mate—something he still wasn’t sure about. He didn’t want to be sure about it. No matter how much his inner wolf whined, his human side didn’t want to acknowledge that she might be the one. No way. No how. He was not going to follow those thoughts down the rabbit hole right now. He had too much on his plate already.

  “Where are you planning to stash me?” she asked, not moving to pack the bag he’d requested. Dealing with humans took patience he didn’t really have at the moment. “I’ll tell you, right now, I refuse to sleep in a jail cell when I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Trespass on private property?” he replied with a raised eyebrow.

  “I call bullshit,” she said, surprising him with her use of profanity. He’d thought she was a bit prissier than that. Maybe there were hidden facets to this already-fascinating woman. He tried hard to tamp down his interest, but he was failing miserably. “What if I told you…” She paused, seeming to weigh her next words. He thought he saw the moment she decided to take a chance before her next words blew him away. “What if I told you…I know you’re all shapeshifters?”

  Shane thought he was prepared for just about anything, but this was something he hadn’t expected. At all.

  He wasn’t sure how to play this scenario. He wasn’t the Alpha here, though he held a position of power in the Pack. It wasn’t his home Pack, though. He didn’t know how Joe Villalobos, the Pack’s long-time Alpha, felt about this sort of situation yet. Some Alphas would readily sanction the death of any human, not already part of the Pack, for such knowledge. Shane didn’t think Joe was that kind of guy, but he also didn’t know precisely what Joe would do in this sort of situation.

  He was tempted to call Joe, but then again, he’d been given the job of sheriff to deal with problem situations in the Pack, so Joe could work on larger issues. Joe was a very successful Alpha who had built an entire town and many successful businesses around his Pack. He had bigger fish to fry and had always depended on the Pack member who held the position of sheriff—a concession to the humans who passed through or lived on the edges of town—to deal with day-to-day stuff.

  This was a bit more than just simple day-to-day stuff, but Shane couldn’t just go running to Joe every time he encountered something he hadn’t dealt with before. He had to use his initiative and come up with creative solutions. Also, he didn’t want to take any chances with the professor’s safety. If Joe wasn’t the Alpha Shane expected and called for her death, Shane didn’t want to know about it. He’d handle the professor and do his best at damage control.

  Course chosen and locked in, Shane tried to salvage what he could of this situation. He tried bluffing first, hoping that would work.

  “What if I told you,” he said after a bit too long of a pause, “that sounds a little loco?”

  “Come on, Sheriff. I know that every person who lives in town is part of the local werewolf Pack. My aunt knew all about you, and she told me.”

  “You know, Lulu had a reputation for eccentricity,” Shane insisted. “I didn’t know her, but I suspect she had a touch of senility, based on what I’ve heard.”

  “Aunt Lulu was not senile,” Maria insisted with a huff. “She told me all about her beau, Justin, who had died, and how he would shift into his wolf form, and they would walk over the ridge to a hidden pond by a little waterfall. They were going to be married, but he was killed in a dominance fight before Joe Villalobos took over as Alpha. Justin’s sister, Maddie, knew about their love affair and explained it all to Lulu after Justin died. They stayed friends for the rest of their lives, and Maddie is the one who helped me move in here. Maddie Wilcox. You ask her if what I’ve said is true.” Maria tilted her head. “Though, she probably doesn’t know that Aunt Lulu told me the whole story.”

  This just got better and better. Shane knew Maddie Wilcox. Her youngest son was a deputy who worked the night shift for Shane.

  “How can you be so sure she wasn’t living in a fantasy of her own creation? Have you ever seen a werewolf?” Shane challenged her while he was trying to think of what to do.

  “I would have tonight. At least, that was the plan. Those guys in the diner were talking about some sort of secret shifter ceremony they were going to do tonight, loud enough that I heard them.”

  Which indicated to Shane that at least those two—if not others in the Pack—already suspected that Maria had forbidden knowledge. Perhaps they’d been planning to push the issue to a crisis point so Joe would have to act. Or perhaps, they wanted to take that on themselves. Maybe kill a human and use the defense that they were only protecting the Pack. Then it would become Shane’s responsibility to clean up after the fact. That was something he didn’t want to do because it would mean that Maria was likely dead and he’d have to kill those two assholes for it. T
hen he’d probably be ousted from the Pack, if not hunted down and killed himself.

  All the way around, the scenario didn’t get any better. He had to think fast and come up with a way to make this work. He didn’t want to kill anybody, and he most definitely didn’t want Maria in any more trouble. But it was painfully clear that she knew quite a bit about shifters. That tree stand in the woods spoke for itself. The others wouldn’t just let this lie. What could Shane do to salvage this situation?

  “This is a mess,” he said at last, unable to come up with anything but the boldest of plans. “Lulu shouldn’t have told you anything,” he went on, noting the surprise in her expression. “But, now that you know—and others suspect that you know—we’re going to have to do something radical to protect you.”

  “Protect me from what?”

  “From the death penalty.” He knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but something had to give her a healthy respect for the danger she’d stumbled into. “What you know is punishable by death in many places. You have no ties, no loyalty to the Pack. We can’t be sure you won’t go out and tell everyone about us, and that’s something we cannot have.”

  “You can’t expect to keep living in secret this way,” she scoffed, dismay showing on her pretty face. Good. She was getting the message. He hated to be cruel to her, but this had to be understood.

  “Why not? We’ve been doing it for centuries.” He shrugged.

  “Centuries?” She shook her head. “But there are stories about shapeshifters in every culture. You’re not very good at the secrecy thing.”

  “Those stories are from before. We once lived side by side with humanity and all the Others, but when man started taking over and magic began to fade, we stepped back into the shadows, and there, we have remained.” He was quoting almost exactly from the history he’d been taught as a boy.

  “Aunt Lulu never told me that,” she whispered.

  “She probably didn’t know,” Shane admitted. A moment passed.

  “So, the question remains. Where am I going if I can’t stay here?” she challenged.

  “I’ll take you to the safest place I know—the Pack house. I’m extending you a rare invitation to take shelter there, under my protection, while I hunt the two who did this to your place and find a way to make this right.”

  “Wait a minute. You’ll let me stay with the Pack for the night? Won’t that be dangerous?”

  “I may be new around here, but I can’t leave you on your own with no protection. Members of my new Pack practically destroyed your home. I need to make it right.” She bothered the hell out of him, but the idea of her being in danger made his wolf want to howl in protest. “What do you say?”

  She looked like she was weighing her options. His inner wolf wanted to nip her and make her choose the only safe bet.

  “I’m not sure.” She pursed her lips, and Shane had to squash the impulse to kiss those puckered lips of hers. Damn woman was too sexy for her own good. “You guarantee I’ll be safe?”

  “Of course. I’m the sheriff. Anybody steps out of line, they’ll deal with me. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

  Sighing, she turned toward her bedroom to pack that overnight bag. Good girl.

  When she reappeared a few minutes later, she had a knapsack slung over her shoulder and a sad look on her face. He understood. He’d seen the mess they’d made of her bedroom, pawing through her things. Stupid mutts. They were going to pay for terrorizing this sweet woman.

  He couldn’t stop himself. He put his arms around her, offering comfort. She was stiff at first, but seemed to accept his hug and then returned it, burrowing her face into his neck. She fit against him perfectly, like she’d been designed to complement his shape exactly.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispered, kissing her temple. She tasted sweet and smelled divine. His senses were drunk on the feel of her in his arms. It was a heady sensation.

  He let his hands shape her waist and hips. She was luscious in a way that made his mouth water, but he had to keep his head. She wasn’t for him. She was human. No matter what she thought she knew, she didn’t really know anything about dynamics of a wolf Pack.

  But she felt so good in his arms. So right. So perfect. How could any red-blooded man resist her?

  Shane bent his head lower to seek her lips, and wonder of wonders, she not only met his kiss, but returned it. His arms tightened around her as their lips combined for the sweetest of kisses he’d ever shared with any woman.

  She tasted like a confection of light and air, dreams and hope. She was a drug to his senses, bathing him in her warmth. It was almost too much to bear…

  He broke the kiss, hugging her tight. He couldn’t allow this to continue, but he also couldn’t let her go right away. If this short moment of joy was all he would ever have of her, he wanted to make it last.

  One thing was certain—he couldn’t touch her once he brought her to the Pack house. Anyone who saw them like this would know how easily she could be used against him. Anyone who suspected what she meant to him could easily destroy him, by destroying her. His position in the Pack was still somewhat tentative. There were other wolves who’d been in the Pack longer, who felt they should be the sheriff. That they should have the status the position incurred both among human authorities and within the Pack structure.

  He’d been dealing with challenges since he came here. For her protection, he had to keep his distance, but he also couldn’t leave her out here in the human world, in danger. He could protect her at the Pack house, but he had to maintain a certain distance between them.

  Which meant no kissing. No touching. Not even any long, lingering glances. He’d have to be on his toes. Nobody could know that her continued existence was key to his sanity. Damn.

  He really hadn’t wanted to let it go that far, but apparently, he’d been powerless to stop it. He let her go by small degrees. Holding her here, in the privacy of her house, was safe enough for now, but after this, he couldn’t touch her again. For her own good.

  “We should go, sweetheart,” he said, realizing as he said it that any endearments that had slipped into his speech would have to go, as well. She had to be professor, once again, from here on out.

  Only he would know that, when he called her professor, he was really calling her sweetheart in his mind. For that’s the only place they could be together…in his dreams.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  They drove to the Pack house quickly. Shane had talked her into letting him drive her ancient vehicle, and after a few minutes, he began to appreciate what she saw in the old relic. It was stubborn but had it where it counted. He could relate to that.

  He was glad of the open top, which made conversing more difficult because of the rushing wind. He didn’t really know what to say to comfort her right now. Her home had been violated by members of his Pack. He felt some guilt about that. If he’d been able to establish his authority more completely, maybe he’d have a little more control over the dickheads in this new Pack.

  He hated to air his problems, but he thought maybe another call to Trey was in order. He’d been there with solid advice for Shane in the past. And he had a mate now. Maybe Trey could give him pointers on how to stay sane while worrying about the security of a lone female. Shane had never had to deal with his wolf’s reaction to a potential mate before, and it was distracting as hell.

  Why the two wolves from his new Pack had targeted Maria was even more troublesome. Had someone, somehow, guessed that she could be important to him? He didn’t think it likely since he’d only just figured that out himself. But what other reason could those two have had for setting her up? Were they just being assholes because she had been a little too curious? Or were those two used to attacking defenseless women?

  Either way, they were up for a beating, at the very least. Once he knew what he was dealing with, he was going to have to find a solution. He might even have to put them down if they really were making a habit of preying on innocent hum
an women, but he needed either a confession or solid proof, to invoke the strictest penalty. He wasn’t an unreasonable man, and he had to tread carefully in this new Pack. Ultimately, it was Joe, the Alpha, who made the life-or-death judgments, but as sheriff—and enforcer for the Pack—Shane had a lot of leeway to do what he thought best according to the laws that governed all shifters, handed down by the Lords of all Were.

  But there was no more time to think about it now. They’d arrived at the Pack house.

  “What is this place?” she asked as he ushered her inside the big house.

  “This is our Pack house. Most Packs have one,” Shane told her as they walked in. “Maybe not as big as this one,” he allowed, looking again at the large open space of the main meeting room that was the first thing you saw when you entered. “It’s open to anyone in the Pack who needs a little help. People come and go, but they always know they have a place here if they need an assist.”

  She walked past him into the big room, and he did his best to control his reaction to her nearness and delectable scent. There were other Pack members living here, and he didn’t want any of them noticing just how attracted he was to the human woman. As far as they were concerned, he was giving her sanctuary in a time of need. They should understand that. Those who were living here at the moment had also needed a safe place for a while.

  The fact that she was human was going to raise more than a few eyebrows, he knew. While it was true that there hadn’t been a human in the house in a long time, if ever, it was also true that she was in danger because of some rogue members of this Pack. That was his responsibility, and he was going to straighten things out. The only safe place to keep her while he did so was right here, where he knew she would be safe. The others who lived here wouldn’t let anyone hurt her once he made it clear she was under his protection. To do so would be to invite their own deaths at his hand.

  “Shane!” A small voice piped up from the archway that led to the large living room on one side of the sprawling house.