Stranded with a Cajun Werewolf

by Selena Blake

  “These are happy tears.”

  “Ahh.” Relief relaxed his jaw. “Go get dressed.”

  She clutched the thick coat, complete with faux fur collar, and scooped up the bags before heading to the bedroom. As she passed him, she stood on her tip toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. He didn’t move or say a word but she felt the tension in his stance.

  On the way out, Burke pulled scarves and hats from the large coat closet and wrapped her up like a fleece burrito. When he pulled out a shoe box with new boots inside she made a little sound of glee. But then her gaze grew worried and she chewed her lower lip.

  “Burke, this is too much.”

  Which was exactly what he’d been telling himself when he’d stalked down the street from the general store and spent half an afternoon shopping for a woman he’d known less than a week. But he couldn’t let her continue walking around his cabin in jeans and his dress shirt. The image alone was enough to make him hard at the most inopportune times.

  “Let’s try ‘em on,” he said, guiding her to the bench in the mudroom. The worry that had clouded her features a moment ago disappeared and was replaced by a smile that made him want to kiss her. Again.

  “How did you know my sizes?” she murmured as he laced up the leather boots.

  “Magic,” he replied. Truth was, he’d looked. But that sounded unromantic and intimate. He couldn’t afford to think of her in a romantic or intimate way, especially considering the item in his pocket.

  When Kendall looked like a plaid polar bear, he headed for the door. “Gin, you comin?” Always ready for an adventure, the big black dog trotted toward him.

  “Wait, I have an extra scarf,” she said, caressing the red fleece.

  “You might need that.” Burke waved her over. She stood in the doorway, letting the heat out, seemingly transfixed by the snow.

  “Wow.” The single word held every bit of awe and emotion he was feeling when he looked at her, his gaze tracing her profile.

  Pulling himself from the reverie, he shook his head quickly. “You really haven’t seen snow before, have you?”

  “Not like this. This is so cold. And deep.” She took a tentative step onto the deck. Burke didn’t bother with a snow shovel. He cupped her elbow and led her to the side yard.

  A hundred yards or so above the cabin the hill flattened out. Flanked on two sides by a steep drop-off was the clearing where he liked to sit and ponder. The back was surrounded by trees and the front: never-ending sky. It was the place where he felt most at peace with the world, where he could survey his property and every corner of the valley below.

  They made their way up to the ridge. Her head swiveled around as she took everything in.

  “Watch your step,” he said, pointing to the cliffs.

  She nodded and paused for a moment, taking it all in.

  Enjoying her delight, he stooped to build a snowman. It’d been years since he’d done such a thing, but the construction process came back to him quickly and he made short work of packing and rolling three large snowballs. He hadn’t felt this young or carefree in centuries.

  As he put the snowman together, he kept an eye on Kendall as she moseyed around the plateau, touching the trees, tasting the snowflakes falling gently from above.

  He’d known she would be delighted with this place. The smallest things made her happy. And he, God help him, loved making her happy.

  When at last, the three graduated balls of snow balanced one on top of the other, he called out “I think this guy needs a scarf.”

  Kendall turned from petting Gin, her azure gaze taking in the snowman. A huge grin blossomed on her face and she lifted joyful eyes to his a half second before she squealed and ran into his arms. She was strong, hugging him tightly around the waist.

  “I love it!” she exclaimed, untangling herself just long enough to wrap the red scarf around the snowman’s neck.

  And he loved her. Crazy as it was.

  It was a foreign feeling, just a memory really. And yet, so much stronger. Completely and utterly wrong. His feelings for the blonde haired beauty went against everything, every rule he’d given himself for two centuries. But he really didn’t have a choice. The heart loved who it loved, damn the consequences.

  Needing to get his mind off of the tender feelings coursing through him, the desire that wouldn’t die, he changed the subject. "We haven't completed your initiation," he told her, trying to remind himself all the reasons he couldn't haul her to him right now and kiss her breathless.

  "Oh yeah?"

  "Yeah." He bent down, snagged a hand full of snow, compacted it on the way back up and tossed it at her. It exploded against her shoulder and she laughed with delight.

  He loved how her eyes sparkled when she was happy. They should always be sparkling.

  Laughing mischievously, she quickly launched a return assault. And then it was war.

  Handful after handful of snow. They lobbed each other, ducking behind fir trees and boulders.

  When she used the snowman as cover he snuck up and dropped a perfect sphere of snow on her head. She sputtered, laughing as she stood and threw two snowballs at him, close range.

  He brushed the residual flakes from his coat and pulled her around Frosty, into his arms. It'd been ages since he'd had this much fun. Since he'd forgotten all of his worries. He had her to thank for that.

  “You warm enough?”

  She nodded, wrapping her arms around him. Good grief, that felt good.

  “I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. About your suggestion that I tell my family I’ve met someone.”

  “Yeah?” Her voice was muffled against his chest.

  “I think it could work.”

  She took a quick step back, staring up at him, her bottom lip trembling. His beast didn’t like the distance between them.

  “I think we should get married.”

  “Married? You…we…”

  He nodded. “We’ll send word back to Florida so that Carl knows you’re off the market. I realized today that if you were to go through with your idea you’re going to need protection.

  Poaching a man’s territory isn’t something he’d take lightly.”

  “Poaching?” she chirped. “Territory?”

  “You know what I mean.” He hoped. This was all coming out wrong.

  “I—we can’t. If anyone would need protection, it’d be you. You’re innocent in all this.

  This is my mess.” She paced back and forth, wearing a groove in the snow. “When you came home earlier I was going to ask you to drive me to town so I could move on.” Move on? Wow. Those words felt like a dagger to the heart. But he could see in her eyes, hear in the breathlessness of her voice that she cared for him. Otherwise, why would she be willing to run out in the middle of the snow with no car, no job, no means of outrunning the men behind her.

  She chewed her lip, obviously considering his offer. Then she shook her head. “I’ve already been here too long. They’d hurt you. Or kill you. And I couldn’t live with that.” She sounded close to tears.

  He took her by the shoulders and turned her toward him. “Trust me. I can take care of myself. I was—“ he thought for a moment about how to sum up all his military experience.

  “Special forces.”

  Her eyes widened at that. Then she stared down at her feet for a long moment. She was going to tell him no. He could feel it. “Why would you do that? We hardly know each other.”

  “We know each other plenty. The important stuff anyway. And besides, the marriage will be strictly professional. Appearances only. And just long enough to suit both our needs.” Suiting his needs, however, didn’t mean an appearances only marriage. He wanted the real deal, with all the trimmings. The warm body gracing his bed. Her lips beneath his. Her legs wrapped around his hips. But he couldn’t go there.

  “If Carl wants to marry you to claim your inheritance, he can’t do it if you’re already married.”

  She nodded her a
greement.

  His heart eased. The argument was so open ended he was surprised she didn’t call him on it. But that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was keeping her safe.

  He pulled a ring box from his pocket and flipped up the lid. Her gasp was all that he’d hoped. The perverse part of him would take great satisfaction at seeing his ring on her finger.

  He’d waited an hour for the local jeweler to come into town to open his shop. But the look on Kendall’s face was worth it.

  If she never had anything else in life, she’d have this ring.

  “Burke—“ She held gloved hands to her cheeks. “It’s too much!”

  “No one’s going to believe you’re married to a Deveraux if you don’t have the rock to prove it.”

  Her eyes met his briefly. “You’re that rich, huh?”

  He gave her his most wolfish grin. “Obscenely.”

  Chapter Nine

  The next day after breakfast, Kendall climbed into the truck next to Burke and they headed down the mountain. Gin hadn’t wanted to stay at home and had only laid down when Burke had promised him a T-bone.

  Carnivores.

  She was admittedly a little tense about the drive and the possibility of running into the Dirk brothers again. But she didn’t say anything to the handsome man who was about to become her husband.

  He didn’t seem the least bit concerned about his safety. She’d thought about nothing else.

  They rode in silence to the clerk’s office. After she’d sworn up and down that she didn’t want or need a wedding dress, he’d agreed to a quickie Justice of the Peace wedding. As usual, she was amazed at how fast he did things. He left no time or energy for second guessing.

  Burke was the type of man who saw a problem and solved it.

  Kendall had never met anyone like him. And as she glanced over at his profile, she doubted she’d ever meet anyone else who could hold a candle to him. How was it in the course of a few short days he’d boosted her self esteem, made her feel beautiful and worthy and made her feel safe?

  She hadn’t gotten more than a cursory glance at the town when she’d first blown through. He drove slowly, letting her note the quaint buildings, old signage, and colorful window displays.

  At the end of the main street he pulled into a parking space.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Yep.”

  Wordlessly, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist and ushered her into the small grey building. She noticed how he was in full protection mode, constantly looking around for any threat. Knowing the full story, she felt like she should be protecting him, not the other way around. But he’d never seemed the slightest bit defenseless and now knowing more about his background, it didn’t surprise her that the man was special forces, his confidence made sense.

  A short, partially bald man greeted Burke by name and slid some papers across the counter between them. Kendall hated paperwork, but she dutifully showed her ID and signed where they said to sign.

  “And that last item you requested,” the man said, handing Burke a manila folder before he disappeared into the back room. Burke nodded, took out a stack of papers and flipped to the various tabs, initialing and signing where indicated.

  “What’s this?” she asked, as he slid the stack to her. Her gaze landed on the big, bold words Prenuptial Agreement.

  She picked up the pen, not wanting him to see how those two words affected her. This was a marriage of convenience. Nothing more.

  The diamonds in her ring caught the light and sparkled up at her like a mini disco ball.

  He was wealthy. Of course he wanted to protect his assets. She initialed several pages, fingers shaking.

  “Don’t you want to read it over?” he asked.

  He’d obviously had the document drafted while he’d been in town yesterday. Or perhaps he just kept a copy laying around in case he decided to get married one weekend.

  That thought made her smile, though she wanted to frown. Burke wasn’t the type to up and marry on a whim. But as her gaze met his, she realized that’s exactly what he was doing.

  Did he really want to appease his family that badly? Or was he marrying her because he pitied her? Nibbling her lower lip, she kept her gaze on the signature lines and kept signing.

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to know his reasons. If they were anything less than what she felt for him…no, she didn’t want to know.

  “I trust you.” She signed her name with a flourish. “And besides. There’s nothing I have that you could possibly want.”

  He stared at her signature for a moment before he nodded. Picking up a pen, he also signed and initialed. Then he tucked two copies back into the folder and left the third.

  Ducking quickly, he kissed her cheek. “You look like you’re going to a funeral.”

  “Sorry,” she whispered back and pasted a smile on her face.

  “Mr. Deveraux, so good to see you again.” Kendall glanced past Burke to see a different man, taller with wire-rimmed glasses.

  “You work fast,” she whispered.

  Burke grinned down at her, looking very much like a groom in love. Though she knew he was playing a part, that seemed a little extreme. What would her father care if her husband loved her or not. The only thing he’d care about was not having to feed her.

  “I’m a man of action,” he murmured back and quickly made introductions.

  “I thought you might like a view of the mountains for your nuptials,” the Justice of the Peace said, indicating the large picture window on the other side of the office.

  Kendall nodded, her smile growing.

  “Seems my bride likes the idea,” Burke said and ushered her around the counter.

  Butterflies took flight in her stomach and continued their frenzy for the next five minutes as they said their vows and then their “I dos.” It didn’t matter that Burke’s warm hands held hers, anchoring her, she felt guilty for lying to a Justice of the Peace and two witnesses. But when it was all said and done and Burke leaned in for a kiss, she met him half way. The witnesses clapped. And when Burke pulled back, smiling down at her, they offered their congratulations. A flash blinded her momentarily and she realized Burke had snuck in a small camera.

  “If ya’ll will excuse us…” Burke murmured a second before he swept her up into his arms.

  “Burke!” The others laughed at her exclamation at her new husband. On the way out the door, someone handed her the folder of prenups. Someone else handed her their wedding certificate. And then the blistering cold enveloped them.

  Burke’s long legs ate up the distance to his truck and she wished that they were going back to his cabin for a real wedding night. Not just a sham. “We’ll try to get a picture sent back to dear old dad.”

  The reminder that their marriage wasn’t real hit her one more time and she bit the inside of her cheek.

  You knew what you were signing up for, Kendall. Not love. Not sex. Not happily ever after. A chance for you to get away from your past and for him to find the right person to spend his life with.

  Yes, she’d known all that and her heart still didn’t want to believe any of it.

  “Sounds good,” she said, trying to smile. But it didn’t sound as good as curling up in his arms.

  Not going to happen Kendall, so get over it.

  But then she lifted her gaze. There was something in Burke’s eyes that stole her breath.

  Alarm bells went off in her head as a ping of lust coursed through her veins, urging her to close the distance between them.

  Oh hell, this was a losing battle, especially when Burke tightened his grip around her waist.

  She used the last card guaranteed to put distance between them. She could be a convenient wife. A placeholder in his life. But she didn’t want to make love to him and leave him in a few months time. Her heart wouldn’t be able to take it.

  “I thought you said I wasn’t your type,” she murmured and waited for him to set her down. But he didn’t.
He closed his eyes for a heartbeat. Two. Then he stared down at her again, so much lust and — dare she hope — love, in his eyes.

  “I lied.”

  Two of the most beautiful words she’d ever heard.

  His head descended and his lips slanted across hers in an honest-to-God kiss that curled her toes inside her boots and set fire to her skin. She tightened her grip on his shoulders, moving her lips against his. Giving. Taking. Utter bliss.

  The next thing she knew he’d let her down and pressed her against the side of his truck.

  Cold went through her and she shivered.

  “I tried to tell myself…we could have a…platonic relationship,” he murmured against her lips. Then he trailed his lips down her jaw.

  “Platonic?” she chirped. The word wouldn’t register in her cold, lust filled brain.

  “Just friends. I don’t want you like a friend, Kendall.” The protrusion between them gave her no doubt he was telling the absolute truth. And after several days of hot and cold, up and down, her emotions came to a head.

  “Take me home Burke.”

  He jerked back and for a moment, he looked vulnerable. To sooth him, she raised up on her tip toes and kissed him firmly on the mouth, letting her tongue sweep inside for a tantalizing tease.

  “I don’t want you like a friend either,” she whispered against his lips.

  Confident that the warrior inside him was quieted for the moment, she reached for the door handle.

  He trapped her between his body and the truck’s interior. She smiled just before his lips met hers. With her powers bound, she could just be human, just like him. She’d never fit in with the coyotes anyway. With Burke…she felt like she belonged.

  “Get in the truck,” he said, his voice rough and desperate.

  Grinning, she scrambled up into the seat. He gave her one last hard kiss before shutting the door and circling the front. Somehow, despite her trembling fingers, she managed to snap her seatbelt and stay rooted to her side of the bench. While she yearned to slide close to him, she knew he’d need to concentrate on the roads.