The Wolf Wore Plaid

by Terry Spear

  When Enrick and Heather headed out into the light rain to check on security and see if guards were posted where they were supposed to be, she was eager to identify weak spots in their defense. Enrick loved how she wanted to help and offered valuable ideas. That it wasn’t just a lark with her, a walk in the park while he had a job to do.

  She joked with the guys on guard duty at each of the posts they came to. Of course, the men hadn’t been expecting Enrick to bring Heather along on the trek, and they were amused and eager to take a little respite and enjoy the visit, unlike when only he showed up and it was more businesslike. “Any trouble?” “No, all’s quiet.” “Good. Let me know if you have trouble.” “Aye, I will.” And that was usually the gist of the night security checks. Not with Heather. They were fun.

  “What knave would take his ladylove on a walk in the night in the misty rain?” one of the men asked, giving Enrick a hard time.

  He took it in good humor.

  “A braw Highland warrior who is agreeable and wishes to please his ladylove by taking her with him as she has asked. Would you not have done the same if a lady had asked it of you?” Heather asked, her chin tilted up, her arms folded at her waist.

  “Nay. She would prove too much of a distraction as I sit at my post. But now if I had Enrick’s job of checking on all the guard posts and everything in between, aye, I would. Especially if she was as fair and fun as you.”

  She laughed, and then she and Enrick continued on to the next guard post. Everyone loved seeing her, and he was grateful for that.

  “Now, ye are a bright spot in the night. Here I thought I would only be seeing ol’ Enrick on his nightly rounds,” another of their men said. “’Tis better than a flask of mead.”

  Enrick smiled. She was the bright spot in his life. And he realized how much she was in everyone else’s lives too.

  “I bet you say that to all the lasses who come to visit you while you’re on duty,” she said.

  The man chuckled. “Enrick would have my head if I had a lass visiting me while I was supposed to be guarding.”

  “That is the right answer,” Enrick said and smiled down at Heather.

  She sighed. “We will let you get back to work.” And then she took Enrick’s hand and moved him along again.

  “You do realize you are making the men on guard duty wish they had the pleasure of your company tonight, don’t you?” Enrick asked her as they moved through the dark woods to the next guard post.

  She smiled up at him. “Aye.” She was such a vixen.

  He was glad their relationship had changed from just being friends to so much more. He paused to think about that for a moment. He was in love. With her. With all her cheeriness and wildness. She might have settled down, done well with her shop, but he realized it was her wildness that really accounted for his fascination with her. Her spontaneity made her a pleasure to be with.

  They finally finished the rounds, and she had been a trouper the whole way, despite the wetness and cool air. He hadn’t even noticed how long they’d been out because she made the task pleasurable. He didn’t plan to drag her out every night. But he wouldn’t mind the company anytime she wanted to do this with him. At least until they no longer had to post guards around the clock.

  As they headed back to the castle, he asked, “How does Chinese takeout dinner in my chamber sound?”

  “Excellent. I haven’t had any in eons. I would love jasmine rice and sweet and sour pork and an egg roll.”

  “Okay, that sounds good. I’ll order it when we return to the keep. I’m sure you’ll want to get into some dry things before you come to my chamber.”

  “That will be perfect. I need to pack a bag too.”

  Now that was what he loved to hear. Until she did it, he kept thinking she would change her mind.

  Enrick gave her a kiss in the hallway before she headed for her chamber, and then he went to his and was calling in an order of Chinese takeout for their dinner on the way there. When he walked into the room, he saw the alarm clocks sitting everywhere in his chamber, having forgotten about them completely. Every time he saw them, he smiled.

  He set up several candles on the dresser, table, and bedside tables for a romantic evening and lit them.

  He’d just changed out of his wet clothes and into jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, but nothing else. No boxer briefs or socks or boots.

  Then he got a text from Lachlan: I just happened to be in the inner bailey when an order of Chinese food was delivered. Believe me, if I hadn’t been armed with my sword, I’m sure some of the other men would have claimed your food.

  Enrick laughed, then texted: Thanks for protecting our dinner order with your life.

  Lachlan was at his door a few minutes later with a sack of the food, two plates and silverware, wineglasses, and a bottle of wine in a picnic basket, making this a first-class dinner instead of Heather and Enrick just eating the meals from the takeout boxes with plastic forks or chopsticks. “Here you go, enjoy. I think a bunch of us are going to place an even bigger order and have Chinese tonight. Maynard said he was all for it too.” Lachlan glanced at all the clocks and the candles and smiled. “I’m taking notes for when I’m in your position. But I won’t need the alarm clocks.”

  “Just you wait, Brother, when you have a lassie in your arms at night.”

  Lachlan laughed. “I’m getting out of here before she arrives.”

  “Thanks for bringing the plates and wine too.”

  “Aye, you have to do it right if you’re going to have a candlelight dinner. Colleen told me to bring up the plates and wineglasses. I thought of the wine.” Lachlan opened the door and there was Heather, bag in hand, blushing beautifully. Lachlan smiled. “I delivered the food. Getting out of your hair now.” Then he hurried off.

  Enrick took her bag from her, and as soon as she saw the alarm clocks, she burst out laughing. He laughed too. “I didn’t expect them all to show up like that. They’re all set to go off at five,” he said, serving the Chinese food on the china plates.

  She took in a deep breath of the broccoli and pepper beef, jasmine rice, and sweet and sour pork. “No way. One alarm clock and our two phones should be enough of a wake-up call for us in the morning.” She started turning off all the alarm clocks but his digital one and then sat down to dinner. “I love the candles and wine. You sure can be a romantic.”

  “Thanks. I had to scrounge them up from Colleen.”

  Heather smiled. “I bet she wishes Grant would do something like this for her. When did you find the time to gather up all those clocks?”

  “Lachlan did it for me.”

  She frowned. “He didn’t tell everyone why he needed them, did he?”

  “He said everyone already knew why I needed them.”

  She laughed, but she was blushing again.

  “What did Lana say about you coming to stay with me?” Enrick figured she would have had something to say.

  “It was inevitable. Nothing she could say would talk me out of it.”

  “Why would she want to talk you out of it?” He hoped Lana wasn’t against their relationship because he knew Heather valued their friendship.

  “Don’t you know she has also had a crush on you forever?”

  “No, only that you did. And that’s all that mattered to me. She’s out of luck. I’ve…” He hesitated. Was this the right time to confess his love to her? Maybe he should date her longer and give her the chance to feel the same way about him as he did about her. A crush was not the same as being in love with that person. He hated to admit he was afraid of a rejection.

  She glanced up from taking a bite of pork. “Aye?” Her eyes were soft, and her lips parted, looking perfectly kissable.

  “I don’t know if it’s too early to say anything about it—”

  “You want me to live with you for an eternity.” She soun
ded like she was joking.

  He hoped it wouldn’t be a shock to her when he asked if she would be his mate.

  “Or not.” She smiled as if dismissing the notion and sipped some of her water.

  “I do.”

  Her lips parted in surprise.

  “Aye, I’ve given it a lot of thought and I don’t want it any other way. If you told me you were running off with Spencer, the villain in the movie, I would have hunted him down and convinced you he wasn’t the one for you. That I was the only one for you.”

  She laughed. “Who told you about him asking me on a date? Julia?”

  “Lana. She said if I didn’t make my claim to you soon, some villain was going to take you away and we’d never see you again.”

  “Lana did? She is such a contradiction. She’d been telling me to take it slow with you or I would scare you off.”

  “No way in hell. Really?”

  Heather laughed and he loved her laughter. He swore it bounced off all the brass clocks in the chamber in a melodious way, making it even prettier.

  “She is working behind the scenes to make this happen, it appears.” Enrick couldn’t help but be amused.

  “Aye. I think if we decided we weren’t right for each other, she would make her play for you. There are several lasses who are interested, you know, and she doesn’t want to lose out to them, if I said no to a mating. Though she knows she doesn’t stand a chance if I’m still in the running.” Heather sighed and reached over and took Enrick’s hand and squeezed. “I’ve dated all kinds of guys, trying to get you out of my system.”

  “Ah, Heather, me too. I mean, lasses.”

  She chuckled. “I know. One date and they were history. All the women I know said if you ever went out on a date with a woman more than once, she’d be the one you had chosen for your own. I’m all for giving up the dating game. I want to keep doing things like this because it’s important to show we care about each other no matter what else is going on in our lives, but I love you, Enrick MacQuarrie, and always have.”

  “You have made me the happiest wolf alive.” He was afraid he was being too impulsive this time, like he’d been in the past. Reckless, foolhardy, which was why his father had taken him aside to tell him someday he would be second-in-command of the pack and he needed to be Grant’s righthand man, not a liability. Enrick hadn’t taken those words to heart until his dad had been murdered, and Grant took over. From that day forth, Enrick had often pushed away that frivolous part of him that could be way too carefree.

  “I know why you changed, Enrick. Lachlan told me the talk your father had with you, and when your father died, you truly had to adjust and become the subleader everyone expected you to be. But you’re also fun to be with and lighthearted and caring, and you still do things that really are you. That part of your character will always be with you. That’s why I love you. I wouldn’t give you up for anything.” She finished off the rest of her sweet and sour pork and licked her fingers, like he was eager to do.

  “That’s good to hear because I love you too. And if you’re agreeable, you’re not returning to the guest chamber to stay with Lana.”

  “She will be so disappointed.”

  Enrick raised a brow in question, concerned Lana didn’t like sleeping by herself in the castle. He would endeavor to find someone else to share the chamber with her if she didn’t want to be alone. He wasn’t giving up Heather for anything.

  “She will have lost out. She’s happy to have the chamber to herself.”

  He laughed. “Good, because I had hoped you would be agreeable to a mating and you would stay here with me through the end of the filming. After that? We’ll have to decide, my castle or yours, or something in between.”

  “That’s to discuss at another time.” She drank the rest of her glass of burgundy and rose from her chair.

  Enrick hastily got up from his and pulled her into his arms. “You are sure? Because when we start, I won’t want to stop.”

  “If you stop, I will never forgive you.”

  He laughed. He loved her. “Then I have no intention of stopping.”

  Chapter 17

  Enrick’s warm breath caressed Heather’s cheek as he nuzzled her face, and she was drawn to his wolf magnetism like she always was. Her feelings ran deep for the Highland wolf, every fiber of her being attuned to his touch. And wanting more.

  She ran her hands over his arms, licked her lips, and lifted her head for a kiss. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her mouth in a tender way, and she felt her heart hitch. She wanted to ravish her sexy wolf senseless.

  He ran his hands down her back, and they felt hot and large and so good as he caressed her. Their mouths connected again, this time lingering.

  “Hmm, sweet and sour, just like I like you.” He licked the seam of her mouth.

  She nipped at his lower lip. “I am not sour. Sweet? Aye.”

  He smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her, giving her a bear hug and nuzzling her hair with his face. “The rain and wind cling to you as if we’ve just run as wolves in the woods.”

  She wished they could run again like that, here, and without having to take an army of bodyguards with them wherever they went. “So do you.” And like musky male who was getting totally turned on.

  Kissing him again, she ran her hands up his T-shirt, stroking his abs. She slid her fingers over his flat nipples that instantly rose to her touch. She gently tweaked them, and he groaned.

  Inserting her leg between his, she rubbed his stiffening cock with her thigh. There was something hot and sexy about a man wearing well-worn jeans when his erection was swelling with need.

  He slid his hands down to her buttocks and lifted them, pressing her mons against his thigh. Ohmigod, she felt she could come right then and there. His mouth was on her neck, just below her ear, and he was kissing and licking, his thigh doing a number on her mons. She was way too absorbed in the feel of him working her up.

  She pressed her breasts against his chest and slid her hands down to his hips, holding on as their pheromones began to sing to each other. She couldn’t help wondering: If she had pushed the issue of dating him sooner, would they have come to this point earlier in their relationship? It didn’t really matter, though, in the scheme of things. Because of their longevity, they could make up for it for many, many years to come.

  He nipped her ear and she was reminded of the time when she’d done that to him as a wolf and he’d tackled her to the ground. She tackled him to the bed before she gave it any serious thought. She was between his legs, resting against his bulging cock, and he was smiling up at her, running his hands through her hair.

  Then she slid his shirt up his chest and kissed his bare skin. He wedged his leg between hers and began to rub again. She wanted to groan out loud. She slid the palms of her hands over his peaked nipples. He moaned and ran his hands under her T-shirt this time, sliding his hands up her back until he found her bra and unfastened it.

  She felt sexy and free in that instant. He pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside, then pulled her bra straps down her arms. She lifted a bit, pressing against his groin, making him groan again. Never in a million years would she think she would ever be here with Enrick like this.

  He pulled off her bra the rest of the way. He sat up on the bed and pulled his long-sleeved T-shirt off and threw it on the floor.

  Bare chest to bare chest, she kissed his mouth again, running her hands through his hair and he stroked hers. She loved feeling their bare skin touching like this and was gladder still that they were finally going to go all the way to mate. His fingers felt dreamy in her hair as he slid them through the silky strands. To her surprise, he pulled her legs apart and sat up on the edge of the bed with her facing him.

  He began working on her jeans that were a little damp from their walk to the guard posts. At least Enrick had
the sense to change before she arrived. She’d been so eager to have dinner with him that she had hurried to pack and then see him. She’d left her wet raincoat in her chamber, so she would have to retrieve it later if she needed it again.

  But now she realized she still had her shoes and socks on and he was barefooted and ready for her to pull off his jeans. She unfastened his belt and he undid her button and zipper. She was going to get off his lap to remove her shoes, but he held her in place and slid his hand between her legs and rubbed her jeans-covered mons.

  Och, he was doing things to her that were making her dripping wet with need. Forget about damp jeans. Her panties were even wetter.

  He was rubbing her clit through her clothes the whole time, and she was way past wanting to be naked with him. Moaning with the overwhelming pleasure of his touch propelling her to the heavens, she unfastened his jeans and pulled down his zipper. His cock sprang free and she was so surprised he wasn’t wearing boxer briefs that she looked up at him, her mouth gaping.

  Smiling, he moved her aside so he could pull off his jeans. Then he removed her shoes and pulled off her jeans. His fingers got a grip on her panties and he slid them down her legs. He slipped one of her socks off, and then the other.

  Man, was he wolfishly sexy. Next time, she wanted to do this when he was wearing his kilt. Then she wondered, had he been going commando the whole time he’d worn his? She wished she’d thought of it before and asked him.

  He sat back down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap again, and she wasn’t sure what he had in mind. He lifted her legs so her feet were resting on the bed and then pinned them under his arms. She felt exposed and sexy. At first, he was kissing her mouth, his hands on her breasts, caressing and massaging, then his thumb rubbed the sensitive nipple and she arched her back and moaned. He ran his other hand down her waist until he reached between her legs and began to stroke again. She loved this position so she could touch him too, running her hands up his hard abs, caressing his nipples, kissing his mouth with exuberance.