Werewolf in Alaska: A Wild About You Novel (11 page)

Replacing the book, she moved into his bedroom. The atmosphere here was so potently male that she caught her breath. Testosterone oozed from the oversized bed, with its massive peeled-log bedposts and huge mattress. She’d been drawn to it the first time she’d walked into this room, and now she had the luxury of being here without supervision.

Giving in to temptation, she walked to the side of the bed, leaned over it with her arms outstretched, and slid up onto the mattress. She let her feet dangle off the edge, but the bed was big enough that she could have laid crossways on it, no problem.

With her cheek resting against the soft comforter, she breathed in Jake’s scent. Too bad her interaction with him had become so damned confusing and strange, because she’d felt chemistry between them from the beginning. Rubbing her cheek against the material, she imagined lying here with Jake as sexual awareness hummed deep in her belly.

Well, this was pleasant, but it wasn’t getting her any closer to the truth about Jake Hunter. After levering herself off the bed, she smoothed the comforter back into place. Then she opened his nightstand drawer, fully expecting she might find a package of condoms there. Many guys kept them handy by the bed.

No condoms. But she found a notepad, a couple of pens, and underneath that, a slim paperback titled
Down with Dogma: Benefits of Were-Human Cooperation
. She held the book for several seconds as her heart thudded wildly and her brain struggled to make sense of what she was seeing.

With trembling hands, she opened the cover and scanned the first page. The word
werewolf
leaped out at her as if surrounded with blinking lights. She seemed to be holding a treatise of some kind that had been written by a werewolf.

Or perhaps the author, Duncan MacDowell, was
pretending
to be a werewolf. It could be a spoof. In fact, it probably was. She was panicking for no reason.

But as she thumbed through the pages, she discovered that the text had been marked up, apparently by Jake. Spoofs didn’t usually prompt people to do that. They read the jokes, laughed, and passed on the funny book to the next person. They didn’t underline and write notes in the margin.

Her heart rate picked up again. The book was for real. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she had some ideas. Sinking down to the bed, she drew in a quivering breath and began to read.

Eventually that position became uncomfortable, but she couldn’t stop reading. Her eyes still glued to the pages, she nudged off her shoes, turned one of Jake’s gigantic pillows on end, and scooted up on the bed. She leaned back. Much better.

She was halfway through the book when a soft sound penetrated her deep concentration. She glanced up and nearly fainted from shock.

Jake stood in the bedroom doorway.

She stared at him for what seemed like forever as adrenaline pumped through her veins and flushed her skin. He looked every inch a man—an extremely virile, travel-rumpled man. He’d pulled his dark green shirt loose from the waistband of his jeans, as if he’d needed to be more comfortable on the drive home from the airport.

Concern was etched on his rugged face, but she saw no menace in his expression. He didn’t seem angry to discover her trespassing on his property. She had the odd thought that of the two of them, he might have more to fear than she did.

Slowly she closed the book before sliding to the edge of the bed and putting both feet on the floor. Then she swallowed in an attempt to remove the metallic taste from her mouth. “You’re back early.”

“So it seems.” His voice sounded as rusty as hers felt.

Looking into his green eyes, she searched for answers. “Who are you, Jake?”

“Your across-the-lake neighbor.”

“And?”

“You tell me.” But his resigned expression indicated he knew the game was over.

She felt light-headed as she balanced on the brink of a truth she’d never imagined could be possible. “I think . . .” She paused to lick her dry lips. “I think you save careless women from ferocious mother bears.”

“Maybe.”

She sucked in a breath. He hadn’t denied it. “Instead of asking
who
you are, should I ask
what
you are?”

That sparked the anger she might have expected earlier when he’d first caught her in his home. “I’m still a
who
, Rachel. Regardless of what form I take, I’m a creature with a soul and a conscience. I’m a thinking being at all times. I’m no monster.”

She’d hurt him. What an astonishing thought. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very sensitive of me to say.” She gripped the book tightly in both hands, needing something to hold on to. “But give me some credit for not becoming hysterical, okay?”

“I wouldn’t expect that of you. Anyone who leads a full-grown wolf into her bedroom and dresses his wounds isn’t the hysterical type.”

Her pulse quickened. “So you really are a . . .” She couldn’t make herself say it. The idea seemed too preposterous, even with the evidence all around her.

“A werewolf. Yes, I am.”

She took several quick, shallow breaths and managed not to faint. “Wow.” She didn’t really believe him. Not yet, anyway. Such things took a while to sink in.

“And I would give anything, all I possess in this world, if you’d never found that out.”

Fear skittered up her spine for the first time since he’d arrived. “Because you’re going to kill me?”

“No! God, no. I could never hurt you.”

Her shoulders sagged. “That’s a relief.” Her laughter was edged with the hysteria she’d denied feeling seconds ago. “I was afraid you might walk over here and break my neck with one easy twist.”

“Damn it, I saved you from the bear! How could you think I’d hurt you?”

“Because I know too much. It happens all the time in movies. You might not
want
to kill me, but it’s the only way to guarantee my silence. It’s not, by the way,” she added quickly. “I can keep a secret.”

Jake sighed. “You might think so, but this is one hell of a secret. Keeping it won’t be easy, and the repercussions if you don’t . . . Let’s say the stakes are extremely high.”

“I’ll bet.”

“You have no idea. This kind of security breach isn’t supposed to happen. We take great care to make sure humans have no idea we exist.”

“Just how many of you are there?”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “Damn.”

“How many, Jake? Six? Twenty? Thousands?”

When he opened his eyes, his gaze was bleak. “The less you know, the better, so I’m not going to answer that question.” He hesitated, as if choosing his words very carefully. “This really is not good, Rachel. I blame myself, but unfortunately, you’ll suffer the consequences, too.”

The fear returned. “Like what?”

“I don’t know yet.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“If you don’t, who does?” She’d been so pleased with her relatively calm reaction to finding out her neighbor was a werewolf, but his uncertainty about her fate was creating a panicky feeling she might not be able to control much longer.

“Never mind. But whatever happens, I promise I won’t turn you over to the Were Council.”

“There is one?” Her voice went up an octave.

“Shit. Forget I said that.”

“Does this Were Council kill people?”

“
No.
For God’s sake, quit talking like that. Weres don’t kill. We have a bad reputation thanks to horror novels and Hollywood, but we’re not killers. We’re protectors.”

She
really
wanted to believe him. “But you mentioned something about me paying the consequences. Forgive me if I’m a tad bit worried.”

“Then let me explain, at least a little. Now that you’ve discovered I’m a werewolf, I can’t let you waltz out of here as if nothing happened.”

She nodded. “Exactly, so the easiest thing is to wring my neck. But you don’t seem to want to, so what’s the alternative?”

“One option is taking you as my mate.”

“What the hell?”

“I didn’t say I was going to do that. It’s one option.”

Heat sluiced through her. She couldn’t tell whether it was from indignation or sexual excitement, but she chose anger over arousal. “Sorry, buddy, but that doesn’t happen in my world. In my world, the woman has a choice in the matter, and no male, no matter how hairy, gets to declare that he’s going to
take
me. Got that, Jake?” His proposal was primitive and it was wrong. But not without appeal, damn it.

“I get it, Rachel. Believe me, I’m no more eager to choose that option than you are.”

“Why not?” Now she was insulted.

“I have a deep and abiding conviction that Weres should never mate with humans.”

Yes, she truly was insulted. “That’s not what Duncan MacDowell says.” She held up the book she’d been reading. “He thinks it’s a swell idea.”

“Duncan MacDowell is an idiot.”

“That explains all the notes in the margins. You were marshaling your arguments.”

“I was.” He cleared his throat. “So mating with you is out, which means we have to come up with a different solution.”

“Great.” Putting MacDowell’s book on the bedside table, she grabbed one of her shoes and began loosening the laces so she could get it back on. “Let’s sleep on it. I’ll be in touch.”

“You misunderstand.” His large frame filled the doorway, blocking her exit. “Until we come up with that solution, you’re staying with me.”

Her jaw dropped. “You’re holding me
prisoner
?”

“I’d rather say I’m detaining you for your own good.”

“How is holding me prisoner going to be for my own good?”

“Let me put it this way. You know enough to be dangerous. If you were to escape, I’d be obligated to report that to the Were Council. They would dispatch other Weres to find you and detain you.”

“You mean hunt me down?” Breathing grew difficult as she imagined being chased by werewolves.

“In a sense.”

She shuddered.

“I’m assuming you’d rather stay here with me than go through that.”

“Well,
duh
.
How about I leave and you don’t report me because you trust me? I’m a very trustworthy person. Ask anyone.” She got one shoe on and started working with the laces of the second.

“Can’t.”

“I’ll take an oath, sign in blood. I have some pictures of me naked in a wading pool. You can have them for blackmail purposes. The idea that you’d show those pictures around will keep my lip zipped forever, guaranteed.” She tied her second shoe.

A hint of laughter flickered in his eyes. “How old were you in those pictures?”

“Four.”

“I’d like to see those sometime.”

“Let me run home and get them!” She stood. “I’ll leave my wallet here as collateral. I’ll—”

“Sorry. You’re not going anywhere. Not until I figure out a plan.”

She blew out a breath. “This is freaking unbelievable.” That tiny flare of humor in his gaze made her feel a little bit better, but not much.

He shrugged. “I’m not any happier about it than you are.”

“Sounds as if we’re in for a lovely evening, then.”

“It is what it is.”

“Guess so.”
Be careful what you wish for,
she thought as she gazed at him. She was about to spend several hours in lockdown with the man of her dreams, and he hated the prospect. Also—small detail—he wasn’t a man.

Jake had been in tight spots before, but he’d always figured a way out of them. This fuck-up with Rachel could turn out to be the granddaddy of all exceptions. Although he did his best to project calm acceptance of an unfortunate situation, he was a mass of nerves.

On top of that, he was hungry—for food, mostly. But the minute he’d walked into his house and discovered it was filled with Rachel’s scent, he’d become hungry for something far more complicated, something a simple dinner wouldn’t take care of. Finding her propped up on his massive bed had tested his willpower more than anything had in years.

He needed to get her out of his bedroom, pronto, before he did something really stupid and seduced her. She might not be seducible, of course, but he had a gut-level feeling that she was. His instincts were sharply honed in that regard, and Rachel was giving off little sparks of interest in between her bursts of outrage. Her scent had changed subtly, too, ever since he’d confronted her.

Having her stay with him for the next few hours would be easier if he kept them both far, far from that bed while they worked on a solution to this gigantic problem. He took most of the responsibility for the mess they were in, but she sure as hell hadn’t helped.

Damned nosy woman. But he’d been afraid she’d grab the chance to poke around his place looking for the wolf. He should have anticipated that and locked his door. He couldn’t help admiring her tenacity and concern for another creature, though, even if she had landed them both in hot water.

Hands on her hips, she stood watching him. “Now what?”

“I could use some dinner. Have you eaten yet?”

“No.”

“Hungry?”

She paused as if thinking about it. “A little.”

He turned from the doorway. “Then let me thaw a couple of steaks for us.”

“Um, you know, I’m really not that hungry, after all.”

He pivoted to face her again. “Would you rather have something else? I think there’re some chicken breasts in the freezer, or I could—”

“No, you go ahead. I’m more tired than hungry. You eat, and I’ll stretch out on your bed for a little while and rest.” She sat on the edge of the bed and untied her running shoes.

He gulped. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” She glanced up.

“Take anything off. I mean . . . don’t take a nap . . . on my bed.”

“I won’t mess it up, Jake. I admit I rearranged your pillow while I was reading, but I’ll put everything back the way I found it. Sheesh, I didn’t know you were such an anal neat freak. It’s not like I’ll get under the covers, if that’s what you’re worried about. Never mind. I’ll just . . . relax in the living room.”

“I’m not worried that you’ll mess up the bed.” If only she knew how much he wanted to mess it up with her. He switched back to the safer topic of food. “It’s just that I thought you were hungry, and suddenly you’re not. It’s kind of late, and you said you haven’t had dinner, so surely you want something to eat.”

She leaned down and fussed with the laces of her shoes. She made a big production out of it, almost as if she needed something else to concentrate on so that she didn’t have to look at him. “Maybe I’ll have something later.”

“Want me to grill your steak so you can have a steak sandwich when you’re ready?”

She finished with her shoes and stood. “Please don’t fire up the grill on my account. Go ahead and eat. I’ll have some of your fruit and nut cereal if I get hungry.”

So she’d checked out the contents of his cupboards while she was at it. But that wasn’t the most significant thing she’d said just now. He finally understood her reluctance to eat with him, and he was both horrified and amused. “You think I’m going to eat my steak raw, don’t you?”

Keeping her expression carefully neutral, she nodded. “But there’s nothing wrong with that,” she added quickly. “You should be allowed to eat whatever way you want in your own home.”

He couldn’t blame her for thinking such a thing. He’d devoured both raw steak and raw hamburger over at her place. She didn’t know that had been under duress. “I prefer my meat cooked,” he said.

Her eyes widened. “You do? But you’re a—”

“Shape-shifter. Maybe it’ll help to use that term instead of werewolf. I’m not, strictly speaking, a wolf at all. I can take that form, but I’d rather not eat once I’ve shifted. That is, unless I have no alternative.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks turned a soft pink, which made her quicksilver eyes even brighter. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know.”

“No need to apologize. I was grateful for any food, raw or cooked.” God, she was beautiful. He’d need a bigger vocabulary just to describe all the rich shades of brown in her shoulder-length hair. The last time he’d stood this close to her, he’d been half-crazy with pain, but now he was free to enjoy every second of close proximity.

He breathed in her almond scent, which had become like an aphrodisiac. How in hell would he make it through this night without doing something foolish? Maybe he was destined to act like a fool and pay the price.

“I knew you were famished,” she said. “I used it to trick you so I could keep you captive longer.” She hesitated. “Now I have to wonder. Would you have been better off if I’d simply left you alone?”

He hesitated to give her the answer, both because it might make her feel bad and because he really did want to limit her knowledge.

“You would have been better off.” Regret laced her words. “I can tell by your expression.”

“Shifting helps me heal.” He could say that much without causing more problems.

She groaned. “And I thought I was helping.”

“That’s all that counts.” He resisted the urge to cup her face as he said that. “You were nothing but kind to me during that twenty-four-hour period. I’ll never forget how caring you were.”

“You’d saved me from that bear, so of course I wanted to take care of you. I didn’t know I was doing it wrong.”

“You couldn’t know that.”

“I was so grateful to you. I’m still grateful, in spite of . . . well, everything.” She paused. “But how did you happen to show up in the nick of time?”

That was a topic he’d rather not discuss, either. “We can talk about it over dinner.” Maybe by then he’d have come up with a great cover story. “That is, if you’re willing to share a meal with me now that you know I have decent table manners.”

She smiled. “I am willing. More than willing. I’m starving, and I’d love a steak.”

“Good.” Fixing dinner would give him something to concentrate on besides his recurring fantasy of rolling around with her on that big bed. He headed for the kitchen. “How do you like your steak?” he called over his shoulder.

“Barely pink.”

“Got it.” He liked his steak rare, but after this touchy conversation, he’d cook his a little longer so it looked the same as hers. He might not be able to erase her image of him in wolf form tearing into the raw meat she’d offered him days ago, but he’d sure as hell like to.

As she followed him through the living room, a cell phone rang, and it wasn’t his.

“Don’t answer,” he said quickly.

“Sorry, but you don’t get to decide that.” She pulled her phone from the backpack she’d left sitting in his easy chair. “Hi, Ted. What’s up?”

Jake clenched his jaw. He should have known she wouldn’t accept a barked order. If he’d said
please
,
she might have responded better. And now she was on the phone with Ted, and no telling what she’d say to him.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m at his cabin right now, but thanks for letting me know, anyway. I happened to be passing by and saw his truck was here, so I stopped.”

Jake shook his head in frustration. When he’d stopped at the general store on his way home to pick up his mail and let Ted know he was back early, Ted had mentioned that Rachel wanted some advice on hikes in the area. He’d known then that he might have trouble, and sure enough—she’d wanted to make certain he was really gone so she could case the joint, and the hiking thing had been a smoke screen.

“Yes, Jake’s been extremely helpful. He’s offered to take me out hiking tomorrow, in fact.”

Jake stared at her. What in God’s name was she doing telling Ted they were going on a hike together?

“Uh-huh. Should be a good day for it. Anyway, thanks for letting me know he was back. Talk to you soon. ’Bye.” She disconnected the call and tucked the phone into her pack.

“Would you care to explain that?”

She faced him, her expression unapologetic. “I made up a story for Ted that I needed hiking advice so I could find out how long you’d be gone.”

“So you could nose around. I realize that. But what’s the point of telling him we’re going hiking tomorrow?”

“Just planning ahead. In case you hadn’t noticed, we have a big issue to resolve.”

“Trust me, I noticed.”

She crossed her arms and gazed at him with those amazing silver-gray eyes. “What if we don’t get it figured out tonight?”

At the moment he didn’t want to figure out anything. He wanted to walk over there and haul her into his arms. “We have to.” Because the longer he was locked in this dance with her, the less control he’d have over his raging libido.

“And that”—she uncrossed her arms and pointed at him—“is
exactly
why we might get stuck. Too much pressure. We could freeze up.”

Or burn up. That seemed more likely. “I won’t let that happen.”

“Then great, we’ll ‘cancel’ the hike.” She used air quotes to make her point. “But if for some reason your magnificent brain stalls tonight, we don’t have to avoid everyone we know while we hole up in this cabin struggling to find an answer. We can leave on the hike I just mentioned to Ted. That might not be a bad way to clear our heads, anyway.”

“I hope it won’t come to that.”

A hint of vulnerability shadowed her expression. “Can’t wait to get rid of me, huh?”

Yes, but not for the reason she thought. “Nobody likes to have problems, and you present one. It’s not your fault . . . well, some of it is. If you’d resisted the urge to come over here and investigate, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“I owed it to the wolf.”

“Who, it turns out, was me.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know that. And my debt is actually to you. When you put it that way, I guess if I help find a solution to our problem, that would be a way of me settling up with you.”

“I’ll accept that as a fair trade. And I hope for both our sakes we can come up with a workable plan.”

“As you said, we have to.”

“Right. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t think very well on an empty stomach. I’m going to start dinner.” He started toward the kitchen.

“Good idea.” She followed. “Can I help?”

He wondered if having her sweet body in the kitchen would help or hinder. Probably hinder. “Tell you what. How about if you set the table out on the deck? I’ll bet you know where all the utensils are.” He gave her a knowing glance as he opened the freezer door.

Instead of looking guilty, she laughed. “I do. I searched your kitchen for anything strange and only came up with a wolf’s-head bottle opener.”

“I bought that in Anchorage as an inside joke.” He took the wrapping off the steaks and put them on a plate in the microwave. “Speaking of the bottle opener, what would you say to opening a couple of bottles of Spruce Tip ale?”

“I can do that.” She went straight to the right drawer and took out the opener.

He took a couple of bottles from the door in the refrigerator and handed them to her. “Even though you’ve been through all the drawers and cupboards, I’m impressed that you remember where the bottle opener was.”

“Good memory.” She popped the top from a bottle and gave it back to him.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“It doesn’t mean I blurt out everything I remember, though. Just so you know.” After opening her bottle, she raised it in his direction. “Here’s to solutions.”

“I’ll drink to that.” The ale tasted good shared with Rachel. He thought about his dinner with Giselle. The air hadn’t crackled when he and Giselle were together, but it certainly crackled now.

Rachel opened the utensil drawer and gathered up what they’d need for the meal. “Are you sure you trust me to go out on the deck by myself? What if I try to escape?”

He’d been crouched in front of the bottom bin of the refrigerator while he chose a couple of potatoes to bake in the microwave after he’d thawed the steaks. He glanced up at her. “You wouldn’t get far.”

She met his gaze. “I might. I’m pretty fast.”

“Not as fast as I am.” Holding two potatoes in one hand, he stood.

“What, you have some sort of Were speed?”

“Something like that.”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t try it, anyway. You’d just call that Were Council and I’d have Were police on my trail.”

“And then the entire Were community would be involved. I’d rather keep this to ourselves if we can.”

“Contain the damage?”

“Exactly.”

“I’m good with that. I won’t try to run away.” Her hands full of utensils, place mats, and napkins, she left the kitchen.

But shortly she was back to retrieve her bottle of ale. He put her to work scrubbing carrots and was mesmerized by the way her breasts shifted beneath her T-shirt as she did that chore. So he looked away, but he couldn’t block out her scent, her body heat, or her soft breathing. Everything about her called to him.

Because he was attuned to her breathing, he noticed that it picked up whenever he came close. That could be because she now knew he was a werewolf, but he thought it was more than that. She wanted him, too. That knowledge was good for his ego but bad for their chances of keeping the evening from getting out of hand.

After about ten minutes of effort, the potatoes were in the microwave and the carrots steaming away in a saucepan. They’d moved on to their second bottle of ale apiece, and Rachel carried those out to the deck while Jake brought the platter of steaks, a long-handled fork, and his basket of spices.

“You’re obviously used to cooking.” She set both bottles on the elevated patio table and climbed up onto one of four tall swivel chairs grouped around it.

“I like doing it.” He adjusted the heat on the gas grill. “When I take groups out on the trail, it’s a fun challenge to prepare them a decent meal in the middle of nowhere. It’s one of my selling points.”