SelkiesSeduction

Anne
Kane

When
Nikki’s sister sends a Druid named Wolfe to warn her about impending danger, he’s
surprised to discover the feisty little selkie shapeshifter is his destined
mate.

Nikki
is immediately attracted to him and intrigued by their telepathic link, but she
is having none of this destined-mate business. Her animal form is a
free-spirited otter, and she fears the call of the wild might be too strong to
allow her to settle down and raise a family. After her mother deserted the
family, Nikki vowed she would remain single rather than risk putting a child of
her own through that emotional hell.

But
when the danger becomes all too real, Nikki’s link with Wolfe is her only
comfort, and she realizes some risks just might be worth taking.

A
Romantica®
paranormal erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

An icy finger of fear slid down Nikki’s spine as she watched
the men search the clearing in methodical sweeps, being careful to cover their
tracks. There were three of them, dressed in military fatigues without any
identifying marks and they looked mean. Mean and professional. Damn! Those
self-defense lessons her father had forced her to take wouldn’t be much help
against this bunch. Only in Hollywood did the perky little blonde manage to
take down a trio of bad guys all by her lonesome without mussing up her hair or
makeup. No, her only chance was to get away before they spotted her.

Did they really think they could get away with just walking
in here and kidnapping her? Obviously, or they wouldn’t be here. And she hadn’t
even notified the neighbors she was back. It could be weeks before someone
noticed she was missing.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Her kind were rare and had been on the verge of extinction
for years. She knew better. Caution had been drilled into her since birth, but
it felt so good to be home, to be alone. At least they’d want to capture her
alive. Hopefully. If it came down to it, they’d probably settle for a corpse to
study.

She backed up a step, feeling the ground behind her with the
tip of her sneaker. If she could manage to work her way deeper into the cover
of the forest, she could hide indefinitely while she figured out what to do
next. An unfamiliar sensation teased the edge of her mind and she froze, one
foot suspended in the air. What the hell?

Two arms grabbed her from behind, bands of steel preventing
her from moving, from escaping. A large hand covered her mouth, trapping the
startled cry before it could escape her lips.

His voice low and gruff, the stranger whispered in her ear.
“Relax. I’m not with that bunch, I’m here to help. Your sister Trina sent me. Nod
if you understand.”

Nikki pushed down the panic that threatened to paralyze her.
Where had he come from, and how had he managed to get so close without her
hearing him? He felt so large, so solid, so
male
pressed against her
back. Did she dare trust him?

Then again, did she have a choice? He knew her sister by
name, so maybe he was telling the truth. Those men in the clearing sure weren’t
here to help her. What did she have to lose? She nodded slowly.

The man relaxed his grip, and she twisted around in the
loose circle of his arms, taking in his stocky good looks in one sweeping
glance. If her sister really had sent this guy, he sure wasn’t part of her usual
crowd. Trina was a ballet dancer and the men she hung out with were fit and
lean, graceful to the point of being feminine. This man didn’t have a feminine
bone in his body.

A tight tee shirt did nothing to hide the rippling muscles
on his wide shoulders and splendid torso. His unruly mop of dark hair, cut just
above his shoulders, gave the impression of a maverick, a man who didn’t care
what the world thought of him. His chiseled features were harsh, interesting
rather than handsome, with a nose that had been broken—more than once. A jagged
scar ran down one cheek.

Nikki quickly calculated her options. With those men in the
clearing below, she needed to get out of here. Fast. She really didn’t have
time to play twenty questions. She kept her voice low. “Who are you?”

“My name is Wolfe.” He gestured toward the woods with a
quick jerk of his head. “We can do the polite introduction thing later. We need
to get out of here.”

She nodded. Yeah. Certainly couldn’t argue with his logic. Unease
threaded through her, though, as she followed him deeper into the safety of the
tree line. Her heart beat so loud she was amazed the men back there hadn’t
heard it. Was he really here to help her, or was she jumping from the frying
pan straight into the fire?

Wolfe was a very unusual name, and she didn’t recall Trina
ever mentioning him before. And where would her ballerina sister have met a guy
like this? The ripple of well-toned muscles in his shoulders drew her attention
as he pushed a heavy cedar bough out of his way, waiting for her to get past
before letting it snap back into place. Nope, definitely not the artsy type.

They walked in silence for a while; every footstep led them
farther from the men in the clearing. The tension in her gut eased slightly.
Maybe luck was on her side for once, and they’d managed to get away without
being detected. Wolfe set a brisk pace, blazing a trail through the scraggly
undergrowth. Nikki was quite happy to let him be the first to be slapped in the
face with each errant branch.

She had to admit he seemed to know his way through the bush.
Not a single twig snapped beneath his feet to betray his passing. Even the
birds kept up their cheerful songs, ignoring the intruders in their midst.
Normally, the little fellows chattered out a warning to the other woodland
inhabitants at the first sight of a human.

The more distance they put between themselves and the men in
the clearing, the better she felt. She hated feeling like an animal in hunting
season. A deer trail leading north intersected their path and Wolfe turned to
look at her, one brow raised in silent question.

Nikki shrugged. How was she supposed to know where the trail
led? “I’m not sure where this goes. The footing’s bound to be better than pushing
through the underbrush, though. You think we should follow it?”

Wolfe nodded. “Yeah. It’ll make the going a little easier,
and help to put some distance between us and your friends back there. And it’s
heading in the right general direction.”

He had a point. Nikki turned to follow the well-worn path
and Wolfe slowed his pace to walk beside her, gliding across the terrain with
surefooted grace. Every movement exuded confidence; even the dead leaves on the
ground were silent beneath his feet.

Yes, he was definitely at home in the woods. Rugged,
confident and at home in the woods. Just not the kind of guy she expected her
sister to know. Or was he lying?

The uncomfortable feeling in her gut refused to be soothed.
They were miles from anywhere and heading deeper into the forest with every
step. What was she going to do if he turned out to be one of the bad guys? She
slipped her hand into her pocket, locating her house key. Clenched between her
fingers it made a pitifully small weapon but at least it was something.

He’d said Trina had sent him, and Trina often had flashes of
precognition, glances into the future. Mostly, they were too obscure to be of
any use but occasionally she saw enough to warn people of imminent disaster.
Nikki’s heart lurched. Trina had never sent anyone to watch over her before.
Had her sister seen something about Nikki in one of her visions? Something
scary enough to send this big hulk of a man to protect her?

She stumbled over an exposed root and caught herself just in
time to avoid falling flat on her face. This wasn’t a summer stroll on the
beach. Time to stop worrying about her sister’s motives and pay attention to
her footing.

As they penetrated deeper into the forest, the underbrush
grew sparser. Towering trees, having never met the business end of a chainsaw,
formed a thick canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight and deterred the
growth of ground cover. The deer and other forest creatures had packed the
fertile earth into a hard path. Except for the gnarled roots and occasional
rock, walking gradually became easier.

They trod side by side, and Nikki studied the stranger from
beneath her lashes, her fingers still wrapped around that house key. Although
she didn’t recognize him, Wolfe seemed familiar with the area, which was odd.
The cabin had been in Nikki’s family for years, and she and her sister had
spent many happy hours exploring the surrounding area. If Wolfe were a native,
she should know him.

They moved at a steady pace for over an hour, Nikki keeping
one ear cocked for sounds of pursuit. None came. Now the million-dollar
question was why the men were there in the first place. Did they know her
secret, or were they just a bunch of crazies with some weird agenda of their
own? Quite a few hippie types had settled around here back in the ’eighties,
and you never knew quite what to expect from them. They were usually harmless
though, and those men didn’t strike her as harmless.

Stumbling over a gnarled root for the third time in as many
minutes, she laid her hand on Wolfe’s arm to get his attention and gestured at
the ground. “I’m exhausted. I need to rest for a few minutes.” Despite the
seeming lack of pursuit, she made sure to keep her voice to a whisper.

Wolfe frowned and shook his head impatiently, pointing up
the trail. “Not yet. I’ve got a horse up ahead. We can rest when we get to
him.”

Nikki arched her eyebrows at his brusque tone. Did he really
think she was the kind of woman who took well to being ordered around? Fine. If
she dropped from exhaustion, he’d just have to carry her. He looked strong
enough to play Tarzan. Or a caveman. Yeah, with that attitude he’d make a
perfect caveman.

* * * * *

“Okay, you can take a few minutes to rest while I get Fred
here ready to go.” Wolfe approached the buckskin gelding and hooked one hand
through the halter. “I haven’t heard anyone behind us, so it should be safe
enough.” He grabbed the bridle hanging from a nearby tree and slipped it over
the gelding’s head.

“What a lovely horse.” Nikki walked over and eased her hand
down the soft hair on the animal’s muzzle. “Hopefully those guys back there
never knew I was anywhere near the cabin. There’s a chance they weren’t even
looking for me.”

Maybe she’d just overreacted. She’d seen those men and
assumed the worst. They could have been looking for a wild animal or something
equally benign. She’d just jumped to the conclusion that they were after her.

Wolfe cocked his head to stare at her. “That’s a bit
optimistic. Can’t imagine what else they’d be looking for way out here. And Trina
seemed kind of concerned. Concerned enough to send me.”

Giving him an irritated look, Nikki ran her fingers through
the horse’s silky black mane. “So just how exactly do you know Trina? Did she
elaborate on who those men might be? Did she say what they wanted?” Deep down
in her gut, where logic didn’t play a big part, she knew she was in trouble.

Wolfe lounged against the split-rail fence. “You ask a lot
of questions for a rescued damsel in distress. Aren’t you supposed to throw
yourself at my feet in gratitude?”

Nikki bit back a curse. She was so not in the mood for this.
“I don’t do damsel in distress, and I definitely don’t throw myself at men’s
feet. I could have escaped just fine by myself.” Which was the truth. She felt
just as comfortable in the forest as she did shopping on Robson Street in Vancouver.

He held up a hand in a conciliatory gesture. “Okay, okay. Sorry
I didn’t introduce myself better back there, but I thought we needed to get
moving. Those guys didn’t look like a bunch of lost hunters. Yes, I really am a
friend of Trina and Jack, more Jack than Trina. We have some hobbies in common.
And yes, they really did send me to warn you. I just didn’t expect the danger
to arrive before I did, hence the single horse. He’s a gelding and quite gentle,
which is a bonus because I’m afraid we’re going to have to ride double.”

“Is your name really Wolf?” Now why did she ask that? She
couldn’t care less what his name was.

He nodded. “Wolfe with an ‘e’. My mother was a bit of a
flower child and I was born during one of her ‘let’s get in touch with nature’
phases.”

“Wow.” Nikki gave him a reluctantly sympathetic look. “A
name like that must have gotten you some ragging as a kid.”

“Some,” he agreed. “It wasn’t all bad. I learned a lot
growing up. Mostly I learned not to judge myself with other people’s yardsticks
and that’s stood me in good stead over the years.”

A crooked smile curved the corners of his mouth and Nikki
felt her heart do a curious little flip. With that curly dark hair and those
eyes, he must have been an adorable child.

“So you and Jack are friends?”

“Yes. We’re working on a research project together, when I
manage to drag him away from your sister. She doesn’t usually come with him so
I admit I don’t know her all that well.” He stroked a hand absently down the
gelding’s neck. “Last Tuesday, she showed up at my door with Jack, really
upset. She said she’d had a premonition her big sister was in trouble and she wanted
me to warn you. Fast. She said she’d tried calling you, but your cell phone
wouldn’t connect. She didn’t settle down until I promised to come straight
away.” He turned a speculative gaze on her.

“Trina knows I’m on holidays and I have a really bad habit
of ignoring the phone. Plus, cell phone reception is sketchy in the mountains.
A couple of years ago, she actually sent the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
looking for me when I didn’t respond to her calls for a solid week.” She felt a
wry grin curve the corner of her lip. “They weren’t impressed when they found
me happily sunbathing by the lake.”

She gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for being so
prickly. I haven’t even thanked you for coming to help me. I’ll feel better
when I can talk to Trina and find out what she knows. I left my cell phone at
the house when I decided to take a swim, so I guess I’ll have to wait until we
get to town. Unless you have one I can borrow?”

Wolfe pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, holding it up so
she could see the display. “And as usual on the lee side of the mountain, no
signal. Town it is.” He tucked the phone back into his shirt pocket.

Leaning down, Wolfe checked the saddle girth before gesturing
for her to mount. “Do you know how to ride?”

“Yes.” Nikki pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “We
always had horses when I was a kid.” Putting the toe of one foot in the stirrup,
she swung herself onto the gelding in one graceful motion and held out her
hand. “Need a hand up?”