by Terry Spear
And if Rogue was right, they’d come to Wolf Pack Run for her.
And they would keep coming, keep hurting more innocents…
Unless she put a stop to it.
She set Tucker down before she finally charged after Rogue. Immediately, Tucker began rooting for acorns under a nearby tree. The piglet would follow her eventually. Using her wolf senses, she tracked Rogue’s scent until the roaring river rush sounded in the distance. She rounded a large pine, pushing its needles aside. The riverbed glittered as the moonlight slowly faded and daylight drew nearer. Each ray of the rising sun lessened the threat of vampires following them—for now. They were upwind, so if the vampires were still coming, they’d notice the bloodsuckers’ scent. Rogue’s horse stood at the edge of the water, enjoying a long drink as his dark rider lingered next to him. He seemed to be searching for something.
With careful footing, Mae made her way to the river. When she reached Rogue’s side, she glanced toward him, only to instantly regret it. In the time it’d taken her to scuffle down to the riverbed, he’d stripped off his shirt and cast it onto a large rock nearby. Every muscled ridge of his abdomen was visible. His was a body of a cowboy, a testament to working long, hard hours on the ranch, and his core reaped the benefits.
Mae gaped. “What are you doing?”
He reached for his belt buckle. “Making use of my time.”
Her eyes widened as he unbuttoned his jeans. “By stripping naked?”
“Last I checked, even pack wolves didn’t shy away from nudity.”
She gaped at him.
“I’m covered in vampire blood. The river is as good a place to bathe as any, Princess, or are you too good for a bath in open water?” He cast a glance over his shoulder.
The now-open material of his jeans rode so low on his hips that Mae could see a thin trail of dark hair that led down to…
Her cheeks flamed.
His eyes transitioned to his wolf’s. He gave her a once-over, his gaze lingering at her bare, dirty feet and the muddied hem of her nightgown. “You may be a pack wolf, Princess, but you strike me as a woman who doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty—or her feet, as it were.” One side of his mouth kicked up.
She frowned. “Says the man who sneaks into women’s bedrooms.”
“We’ve been through this, Princess. You had fair warning. There was no sneaking involved. But I’ll take it you’re not joining me?”
If she’d been a braver woman, she would have joined him just to spite him.
And to fulfill her own fantasies…
“Not a chance.” She turned away, refusing to watch him for another second. No matter how curious she was.
A moment later, a gentle splash told her he’d waded into the water. When she turned, he was submerged in the river, the moonlight shining down on him. She watched him disappear into the depths to wet his hair and then resurface. Beneath his Stetson, it had looked like he sported a close-shaved military buzz, but his Stetson had hidden an undercut, the top of which revealed a patch of jet-black hair. The deep ebony reminded her of the streaks of black that were in his coat while in wolf form. He may not have been Grey Wolf Pack, but that coloring was still rare among their species. She’d only seen it once before.
The thought immediately soured in her stomach. No. She wouldn’t sully the memory of her dearest friend by comparing him to this wicked wolf. Handsome as sin or not.
“Are you certain you can really protect me, make me disappear, and retrieve the vampire we need to create the antidote?” she called out to him. She needed to distract herself. She wouldn’t dare let him think that she was standing here out of curiosity or for the sake of watching him bathe.
Because she wasn’t.
“Having second thoughts?” He scrubbed a hand over the planes of his chest.
She tried not to notice the ample muscle there. But she was failing—miserably. “No. But you’re only one wolf.”
For some reason, she got the impression that amused him.
He slicked back his hair, the damp coils tamping down to his head. “Leave the details to me.”
She crossed her arms. “And what comes next? We find the vampire and force him to create the antidote for widespread use before the bloodsuckers find me?”
He washed his face as he nodded. “I have several associates searching for information through the back channels, the underground. Sources your brother and packmates can’t even begin to tap into. We’ll find someone who’s seen something. We always do, and once we negotiate the intel, we’ll have the scientist’s location and the antidote will follow.”
“And what if someone else finds the scientist before we do? You said yourself that the other shifter clans would soon be after the antidote, too, that Seven Range Pact or not, they wouldn’t hesitate to double-cross my brother.”
“We’re several steps ahead already. Time is on our side, and even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. Your blood is the key to the antidote. In this chess game, you’re the queen, the most valuable player on the board, and that’s why our highest priority is for you to stay off the radar. You need to disappear.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Our key advantage is that no one will know where you are. That gives us time.” Even in the moonlight, his gaze darkened as his eyes sparked gold again. “And for a wolf like me, it is that easy.” He faced away from her and stood.
Mae’s eyes grew wide as he rose naked from the river depths. The bare muscles of his back moved with such grace and fluidity that his tanned skin glistened with water droplets in the moonlight. A black tattoo of a dragon snaked over his spine. Wide shoulders tapered down into a lean waist. She followed the lines of the ink on his back, which only brought her sight lower to the two delectable dimples just above his perfectly muscled…
He started to face her again. She gasped, tearing her gaze away. Heat flooded her cheeks, but she kept her eyes averted, focusing instead on Bee’s hooves. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing she’d been watching him. Not even if he had the most perfect muscled ass she’d ever laid eyes on. Not even though he’d kissed her senseless in a way so memorable that it felt like all the times she’d been kissed before didn’t matter. She was here to save her pack. Nothing more.
She heard his dark chuckle beneath the rushing sounds of the river.
“Enjoying your view?” he called out.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she called back.
A moment later, water sloshed near the river edge. She didn’t look up. All she could see were his bare feet, and she intended to keep it that way.
He stepped beside her, grabbing his clothing. “Don’t act like you’ve never seen a naked cowboy before, Princess.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to see you naked, and if you keep teasing me, considering that kiss, I might think you have other motives than the antidote.”
“You’re not unattractive, Mae.”
Not unattractive?
“Watch it,” she scoffed. “Those superb compliments will cloud my head with silly delusions of romance.”
“I don’t do romance.” He leaned toward her with a conspiratorial smirk. “So don’t make something as little as a kiss more than it is.”
Hurt seared through her, but she didn’t dare show it. “You say that like I want it to mean something.”
“You wouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t.” Slowly, he eased closer until she felt him lingering behind her. A drop of water from his hair dripped onto her shoulder, and the chill of the river water radiated from his bare skin. “I smelled your desire,” he purred.
A shiver ran through her. And from his dark laugh, he’d noticed.
“I know the sounds you make when you come,” he challenged. “Saw the way you arch your back as you moan.”
“It was da
rk in my bedroom,” she shot back.
“I’m a wolf, Mae. All the better to see you.”
Her jaw tightened. “I’m not loud.”
She heard the amusement in his voice. “All the better to hear you.”
Her hands clenched into fists. “It was a mistake.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ve learned your lesson.”
“And what’s that exactly?”
“Never trust a wolf like me, Mae.” He leaned in toward her, the heat of his breath tickling the sensitive skin of her neck. “Because once he sees you, hears you”—he inhaled a sharp breath, and for a moment, she thought his lips might brush the delicate skin of her throat—“he just might want a taste…”
He stepped away from her. When he returned a moment later, a wry grin crossed his lips. He was holding his flask again. He extended it toward her. “Drink,” he insisted. “To our newfound alliance.”
“What is it?”
“Something to make the travel to my ranch smoother,” he said.
She stared at his offering.
The longer she hesitated, the more amused he seemed. “You don’t trust me, little lamb?”
Little lamb?
He was challenging her, taunting her. Again.
And she’d be damned if she would let him win.
Mae snatched the flask from his hand. “I’m no lamb.” She lifted it to her lips, chugging several long swigs. The fiery whiskey burned down her throat, but she didn’t dare allow herself to cough. As the burn subsided, she pegged him with a hard stare. “You forget I’m just as much of a wolf as you are.” She allowed her wolf eyes to flash.
He grinned. That devilish smile was becoming all too familiar. “We’ll see about that.”
Stepping around her, he grabbed his shirt from the rock and pulled it on. He glanced behind her. For a moment, she thought he was watching the skyline, where the stars were just beginning to fade into the early light of morning, until he said, “You’re late.”
Mae glanced behind her. Several wolves in human form emerged from the shadows, slowly closing in on them. The hair on the back of Mae’s neck rose on end, and goose bumps prickled across her skin. But Rogue seemed unfazed by the wolves’ presence. Were these his men? Her gaze darted between the advancing wolves.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “I thought you said we were going to your ranch.”
“And we are.” He stepped away from her. “But you didn’t think I’d let a Grey Wolf be privy to its location, did you?”
Her eyes darted to the black sack and rope in one of his men’s hands. Realization dawned on her. With the promise of her pack’s safety dangled in front of her and the vampire’s attack, it’d been all too easy to forget this man was still her brother’s enemy. He wouldn’t want a Grey Wolf like her knowing where his ranch was…and he had no intention of taking her there as a partner.
He intended to take her as a prisoner.
“We had a deal,” she breathed. “You said you’d protect me.”
“And I intend to keep my end of the bargain. No harm will come to you. You’ll be perfectly safe, as promised.”
“You misled me. If you think threatening to put a bag over my head and tying me up counts as safe, you’re delusional!”
“I said I would protect you from the vampires and find the antidote. Nothing more.”
“You bastard,” she growled as his men eased closer.
Her words didn’t seem to faze him. “I’ve been called far worse and deserved it.”
As his men drew closer, Mae snarled. She crouched low, preparing to shift.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Mae. I promise to be a gentleman. Rogue’s honor. I’ll even have one of my men retrieve that damn pig of yours,” he said. A dark grin crossed his lips. “But you really should be more discerning when making deals with the devil.”
Mae stepped backward, preparing to make a run for it. She was about to tell him that for all she cared, he could take his damn deal and shove it, but at that moment, her foot caught on one of the river rocks. Suddenly, the world tilted on its axis as she stumbled.
The next thing she knew she was lying on her back, a searing pain throbbing through the base of her skull. Off in the distance, someone was swearing like a sailor, but his voice became garbled as her vision blurred. The colors of the early-morning sunrise blended into a kaleidoscope as she blinked up at the sky.
Her eyes grew heavy as a pair of strong arms lifted her. Rogue held her in his arms, clutching her to his chest as if she weighed nothing.
Mae fought to keep her eyes open, to focus on the sharp lines of his face, but it was no use. The darkness encroached on her faster than a striking viper. And she was suddenly tired. Too tired to fight.
“You’ll go to hell for this,” she slurred.
“You forget, Princess”—he brushed his thumb over her cheek—“I’m already on the list of permanent residents.” He stared down at her. The blue of his eyes filled her with cold as her eyelids grew heavy, so heavy she couldn’t keep them open any longer. The last thing she heard before she slipped into darkness was his deep voice whispering to her.
“I’ll take care of you, Mae. You won’t regret this.”
Wicked Cowboy Wolf
On sale January 2020!
Acknowledgments
Thanks so much to Donna Fournier and Darla Taylor for beta reading this book! All their comments were so helpful and much appreciated starting out the new year! And thanks to Deb Werksman for all her helpful suggestions, and to the cover artists, and—yes!—the models who make the book covers drool-worthy.
About the Author
Bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written over sixty paranormal romance novels and four medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Spring, Texas, where she is working on her next wolf, jaguar, cougar, and bear shifter romances, continuing with her Highland medieval romances, and having fun with her young adult novels. When she’s not writing, she’s photographing everything that catches her eye, making teddy bears, and playing with her Havanese puppies and grandbaby.
Connect online:
terryspear.com
Twitter | Facebook | Wordpress
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