by Desiree Holt
A Total-E-Bound Publication
www.total-e-bound.com
Dark Stranger
ISBN # 978-1-907010-66-8
©Copyright Desiree Holt 2009
Cover Art by Natalie Winters ©Copyright July 2009
Edited by Michele Paulin
Total-E-Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2009 by Total-E-Bound Publishing 1 The Corner, Faldingworth Road
, Spridlington, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2DE, UK.
Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-burning.
The Sentinels
DARK STRANGER
Desiree Holt
Dedication
To all my author friends who support me, inspire me, and without whom I’d never be here
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmark mentioned in this work of fiction:
Jeep: Daimler Chrysler Corporation
Chapter One
The cabin was a wonderful blend of rustic and comfort, nestled comfortably deep in the Maine woods. The view was spectacular—trees all around, the wonderfully fragrant Maine pines, a clearing where deer came to nibble at the grasses, and a natural rock terrace into the ravine on the other side. And the sunrises. Now she understood the phrase ‘the edge of morning’. The moment when night shed its gown of darkness and the life forces of daylight paraded forward. Time for dark secrets to be hidden away and for the sunlight to open up all the corners of the earth to visibility. The blending of the two sides of nature had a magical mystical quality to it,
But after three days, Kelsey Bryant was beginning to go stir crazy.
Not that she didn’t appreciate the loan of the cabin from her partner, Luke Spencer, and his wife, Sierra, who actually owned the place. And when Sierra had made the offer, it had seemed like just the right place to take a look at her life the way Sierra had done two years ago. And look what Sierra had gotten out of it! Luke!
Not that Kelsey expected a hot, sexy man to come out of the forest, shape shifter or otherwise. But she was getting antsy with only herself for company, a situation she wouldn’t have expected. Usually, she was known as the loner of The Sentinels, the shadowy security and protection agency she owned with seven other shifters. Since they’d been forced to flee Northern Michigan after the rest of their pack was decimated, she’d kept pretty much to herself, focusing only on her work.
Now, however, the two she was closest to, Luke and Brian Spencer, the ones she thought of as brothers, had found their mates and settled into their own lives. Despite all their efforts to include her as much as possible, Kelsey was feeling like the odd man out.
It wasn’t as if she could just go out and meet someone. Over and above everything else, which included her innate suspicion of other people, was the fact that she was a shape shifter. A human who could assume the form of a wolf. Or, if you preferred, a wolf who could become human. Most people didn’t even think shifters were real and thought they were creatures made up to scare children or to blame unexplained things on.
But they were real enough. All the members of The Sentinels could attest to that. Hunted almost to extinction by uneducated townspeople, they had fled to Texas and found safe haven in the Hill Country just outside San Antonio. Now they spent their lives in two pursuits: protecting and helping others and seeking other disconnected shifters to recreate a solid, functioning pack.
That was another dilemma Kelsey battled with. Lately, she’d begun to question her protection and tracking skills, her ability to contribute to the missions of the agency. A case had gone sour, and while the other partners had pointed out to her that they’d been called in too late, in Kelsey’s mind, it was her own dwindling skills that had contributed to the failure.
So here she was, trying to take a good look at her life and decide if she had suddenly become the odd man out. Of everything.
Twice since arriving at the cabin, she’d shifted and run through the surrounding trees, careful to avoid any humans who might be tramping through the woods. She ran mostly at night, loving the feel of the wind in her fur and the clean smell of the forest. It also gave her a chance to test her abilities, to see if it was only her human abilities that were failing. It was a question she was still wrestling with.
Right now, though, at this very moment, all Kelsey wanted was some non-demanding companionship of any kind. Something to break up the monotony. And she wasn’t going to find it here, isolated from everyone else. She’d stopped at the little town of Rock Creek, about five miles down the road, to stock up on supplies. Driving down Main Street
, she’d spotted what she thought was a bar. No, a tavern. Towns like this didn’t have regular bars. She hoped the place wasn’t a total dive, and that they’d have either something decent to drink or someone halfway acceptable to talk to.
Shrugging into her jacket, she grabbed her purse and keys, locked the door and cranked the engine on her new, fire-engine-red Jeep. Everyone had teased her about the colour, reminding her it was hardly inconspicuous. But the polished red surface always cheered her up, and when she needed to not be seen, she borrowed one of the agency’s vehicles.
Rock Creek appeared to have only one main road running through it. Big shock. Almost everything was dark on the short street, not surprising since Sierra had told her the streets rolled up right after dinner. The only light came from the tavern at the end. An amber glow showed through the window and a neon sign proclaimed the name of the bar—quaintly enough, ‘The Bar’.
Kelsey snorted a laugh. How original. She could imagine what the inside was like.
Like I have a lot of choices about places to go.
She had never been one for going into bars alone, especially out here in the middle of no place, but she was heartily sick of her own company and the idea of drinking alone didn’t appeal to her. Sighing and hoping she wouldn’t live to regret it, Kelsey she parked in the gravel parking lot in front of the building and shut off the engine.
I should go home and curl up with a good book. If I had a good book, that is.
Hesitating briefly, she finally climbed out of her vehicle and forged ahead. Pushing open the heavy wooden door, she stepped into the dimness. It took her almost a full minute to adjust her eyes to the low light. The Bar was larger than it appeared on the outside, with a handful of booths on one wall, a long bar opposite and a few tables and chairs scattered in the space between. Two of the booths were occupied but none of the tables. Four people sat at the bar, drinking quietly. At the end of the room, under a rectangular overhead light, two men played pool.
When the door closed behind her with a thump!, everyone turned to look at her, starring at her as if she were an alien come to earth from another plant.
To them, I probably am.
The same ey
es followed her as she walked over to the long counter and hitched herself up on a stool. A napkin slid onto the bar in front of her, and she looked up to see six foot plus of muscular male, a face all sharp lines and angles with a thick shock of dark hair framing it. The punch of lust that shot through her stunned her. No man had ever drawn that kind of instant reaction from her. Then she looked up and saw his eyes, a glowing amber that reflected what little light there was in the place.
The only people she knew with eyes that colour were shifters like herself and her partners. But surely it wasn’t possible that one existed in the flyspeck of a town. Wouldn’t Sierra and Luke have discovered him by now?
They were forever on the hunt for other lost shifters, looking to rebuild a pack and develop new relationships. So if a shifter lived in the town where Sierra’s inherited cabin was located, wouldn’t she or Luke have ferreted him out by now?
She sniffed delicately, trying not to be obvious, but it didn’t matter. If he was a shifter, he’d managed to mask his scent well.
“We rent out the stool, but you can have it for free if you buy a drink.”
The deep voice, shaking her out of her reverie, had a timbre to it that sent shivers down her spine and did nothing to diminish the desire heating her blood.
Jesus, don’t let me make a fool of myself here.
“Oh. Well.” She couldn’t seem to untangle her tongue. “In that case, a beer, please. Whatever you’ve got on tap.”
In seconds, he placed a heavy glass mug on the napkin, the glass already frosting from the cold liquid in it. As he leaned towards her, the rich scent of pine trees drifted past her nostrils, reminding her of earth and outdoors and everything clean. Her stomach flopped.
That must be some aftershave he uses.
Kelsey picked up the mug and sipped from it, watching the bartender watch her.
“Just passing through?” he asked. “We don’t usually get strangers here.”
“I can imagine.” She couldn’t quite keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She raised her eyes again to his and was shocked by the wave of lust that swept over her. Her nipples felt as if pins were pricking them, and moisture flooded the crotch of her panties.
What the hell?
She took another sip of beer to steady herself. “I’m actually spending a few days at Sierra and Luke Spencer’s cabin. You know them, right?”
It had to be impossible for him not to, she thought, as small as the town was.
He nodded. “A little. They come in here once in a while.” A grin tugged at his lips. “Although they mostly keep to themselves. They up here, too?”
Kelsey shook her head. “No. They were nice enough to let me borrow it so I could hide away from the world for a few days.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “Hiding from anything in particular?”
She shrugged. “Just life.” She looked around the bar. “Isn’t that what everyone else up here is doing?”
The muscles in his face tightened. “People earn their livelihood here,” he told her in a flat voice. “This is big lumber country. Didn’t the Spencers tell you?”
“What about you?” She cocked her head. “You don’t look the lumberjack type to me.”
He was silent for a long moment before he answered her. “I have other things that keep me here.”
Kelsey watched the muscles flex in his arms as he wiped the surface of the bar next to her then tossed the cloth under the counter. Hair as dark as that on his head dusted his arms and curled over the vee of his dark sweater. She had an insane desire to leap across the bar and rip off the bartender’s clothes. She picked up her drink to steady herself and sipped at the cold brew. What on earth was happening to her?
“Hey, can a guy get a drink around here?” The man four stools over called. “Socialise on your own time.”
“You need to drink more slowly, Bert.“ The bartender filled another mug from the tap and walked it down to the man. “Don’t want you to fall off the stool like last time.”
“I told you I just lost my balance, damn it,” Bert protested. “Gimme that drink.”
“Okay, but I’m cutting you off when I see you start to wobble.”
“Hey!” One of the pool players hollered out. “Who’s the dame?”
“None of your business,” the bartender answered. “Pay attention to your game.”
“You must not have much business if you talk to all your customers that way,” she told the bartender when he stood before her again.
He shrugged. “No place else for them to go. So…do you have a name or are you hiding that, too?”
For a minute, she was tempted to make one up, but realised that was just foolishness. It wasn’t as if he was a criminal. “Kelsey. Kelsey Bryant.”
He extended a hand across the counter. “Mack Renfield.”
The moment their hands touch she felt every muscle in her body contract. The walls of her pussy contracted, and if possible, her nipples hardened even more. The lust that had swept over her in the beginning coiled like a snake low in her belly.
What is going on here? If he’s not a shifter, where is the instant electricity coming from that’s snapping between us?
His hand continued to hold hers, the palm rough and calloused, the skin incredibly warm. Finally, he released her, and she picked up her mug again, hoping he’d ignore the shaking in her own hand. When she looked up, he was staring not at her hand but straight into her eyes.
“I close in an hour,” he told her, his gaze holding hers.
Well, that’s getting right to the point. I guess they don’t beat around the bush up here in Maine.
She realised instantly that the same feelings were gripping him. And he wasn’t telling her his business hours just to give her information. She drained her beer.
“Well, then. That gives me plenty of time for another drink.”
“Sip it slowly. You don’t want to get drunk. Someone might take advantage of you.”
Again that all consuming feeling of lust grabbed her. Was he trying to tell her something? If she was smart, she’d get up, run to her car and get the hell out of there. But smart didn’t enter into what she was feeling. Her body was sending her a message her brain ignored.
“Exactly who would that be?” She met his piercing gaze, seeing the amber darken to a rich gold.
He never looked away. “You never know. Could be me. Would that disturb you?”
Everything about you disturbs me. I’m crazy for sitting here, having this conversation with you—a total stranger—and knowing with a certainty where it’s going to end up.
Kelsey ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “I think it would be…interesting.”
His eyes burned into her, as if they could see right down to her trembling soul. “Take your time on the drink. In a little while, I’ll check for last call then start closing up. I only live five minutes from here.”
Kelsey heard the words come out of her mouth before her brain connected. “Why don’t we go back to the cabin?”
Mack hesitated for the space of one heartbeat. “Are you sure?”
No, but I’m going to do this anyway.
“Yes.”
One corner of his mouth kicked up. “That sounds like a hesitant yes, but I’ll take it anyway. Sip on that beer until I get squared away.
Well, Kelsey, you’ve done it now.
Chapter Two
Kelsey parked in the small area next to the cabin and waited while Mack parked next to her. She trembled slightly as she led him up the two steps to the porch, and her fingers shook so badly she nearly dropped the keys. Inside the door, she flipped the switch that turned on a small lamp then started towards the fireplace to get a blaze started, but Mack’s strong hands grasped her arms and turned her to face him.
His face was bare inches from hers. “Last chance to change your mind.”
Not likely.
Mutely, she shook her head.
When his mouth came down on hers, it was like kissin
g a live wire. The electricity of it stunned her, sending shock waves through her body. It definitely wasn’t a gentle kiss. Rather it was ravenous, as if he wanted to devour her mouth. His tongue pressed the seam of her lips until she opened for him then swept inside like a marauding predator.
It brushed across her teeth, the inside of her lips and cheeks, then twisted with her own tongue so she couldn’t tell one from the other. Mack’s hands pressed her to him. Her breasts ached unbearably, the nipples tingly as if a thousand tiny pins poked them. And the muscles in her cunt clenched and quivered while her juices flooded her already soaked panties.
One hand gripped a cheek of her ass, pulling her against him, while the other played a magic tune on her spine. Kelsey lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck as he continued to feed on her mouth. She was dizzy with desire, her knees wobbling, her body melting into his. Through their clothes, she could feel the hard ridge of his erection and knew he would be enormous and thick.
They broke the kiss only to drag air into their deprived lungs. Kelsey looked at Mack with glazed eyes, wrapped in a fog of lust.
“I-I should light the fireplace,” she stammered, wondering if she could even walk to it.
“I’ll do it.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the couch facing the fireplace. “Don’t move,” he ordered.
As if she could.
When the fire was a bright roaring combination of orange and red, he came back to her and slowly began to remove her clothing. He dragged her sweater over head and tossed to the side. She watched his eyes rake over her, eating her up before he lay down beside her on the wide couch. His gaze fastened on the silk and lace bra that covered her full breasts then bent his head and captured a nipple in his mouth, fabric and all. His teeth closed with a light touch over the stiff point, tugging on it as a new kind of heat radiated straight to her womb. He palmed her other breast, squeezing and rubbing it, the friction caused by the fabric enhancing the feel of his touch.
