by Chloe Cole
To his credit, Drake trailed behind her as she walked around the store, but didn’t remark on her selections or press her for time. For her part, she kept it short and sweet, making no attempt to shop for anything stylish. This whole thing was a charade anyway. She’d select a few of this and a few of that in the right size for appearances sake, but she’d be long gone before she had to worry about a full wardrobe.
"Sneakers too," he reminded her, glancing down at her feet that were encased in a borrowed pair of his clunky, oversized shit-kickers.
"Like I could forget those," she said wryly as she clomped off toward the wall of shoes.
She could feel his eyes on her, so she made a show of picking up a pair of white tennies before putting them down and selecting a second pair.
The whole ordeal took all of twenty minutes but it felt like half a lifetime. Between Raina shooting eye daggers from across the store and Drake standing close enough to Willa for her to smell the Irish Spring on him, she was ready to jump out of her skin by the time they checked out and left with their bags.
"We got something accomplished today," Drake said as they made their way to his truck. "And I think you'll feel much better once you have some things of your own in the house."
She swallowed a near-hysterical laugh. Yeah, that was the issue. If only she'd had a pair of jeans to call her own, she'd be fine…the whole “sold into marriage with a dragon” thing notwithstanding. Still, it did her no good to argue with him. She'd tried that multiple times and failed.
No, her only hope was to gain his trust until he let his guard down. If she could keep her head on straight in the meantime, she'd be fine.
But why did he have to smell so damned good?
"Let's hit the diner for some food," he said, gesturing to the greasy spoon across the narrow street. “That granola bar didn’t cut it.”
She nodded, maybe a little too enthusiastically. There had to be a way for her to find a phone and make a call once they were at the restaurant. Because, with every minute that passed, as isolated as she’d tried to keep herself, she lost herself a little more in Drake. And soon, she was going to forget why she ever wanted to leave in the first place…
Choice, Willa, her subconscious snapped at her.
Free will.
The right to pick the man she spent her life with.
And the man she spent her life with wasn’t going to be one who’d traded for her like a head of cattle.
“The diner sounds good,” she said with a smile. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Ten
"Well if it isn’t Drake Blackbourne."
A low voice, silky as the finest of chocolates melting in the midday sun, sounded behind her, stopping Willa in her tracks. She turned just in time to see the thunderous frown on Drake's face as he stared at the man standing on the sidewalk a few yards away.
He was tall, nearly as tall as Drake, and muscular, but that was where the similarities ended. His gold-kissed hair was short and wavy, his grin quick and wide.
If Drake was midnight, this guy was sunlight. For every ounce of dark, sensuality that oozed from Drake, an equal amount of warm, boyish charisma poured off the other man.
She blinked twice and shook her head to clear it, taking a quick glance around the parking lot to see if she was the only one struck dumb by the sheer magnitude of the testosterone before her. Unfortunately, there was no one else around, and she found herself wishing for a camera.
"Etienne," Drake said, inclining his head in greeting. His green eyes had gone chilly and, despite his smile, she could feel the menace rolling off him in waves.
Etienne?
Willa stepped back, her stomach curdling. Hadn't that been the name of the dragon who had tried to make off with her the other night?
"This is Willa. My mate.”
Unlike when she’d said something similar to the blonde chippie in the store a few minutes before, Drake seemed to have no regrets about stating the nature of their relationship. In fact, his tone was one of challenge and aggression rather than remorse.
"I do believe we've met,” Etienne said softly. “Hello again, mon petit.” His eyes were brown shot with liquid gold, and they danced with passion as he raked her from head to toe with his gaze. “The last time I saw you, it was from the back. I have to admit, the view from the front is every bit as good.”
She flushed and crossed her arms self-consciously over her chest.
When he’d been about to snatch her up in his talons, she’d felt exposed and terrified. Now, she felt only the former, but it was still unsettling. She opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, stuck for a response.
She wasn’t going to thank him for his cheeky compliment, but it was hard to recall why she’d been so afraid of him when he was smiling at her so sweetly.
She needn’t have worried about a response, though, because Drake stepped between them, blocking her from the other man’s view.
"I had hoped to speak to you in private, Etienne, but since the opportunity has arisen, it seems silly to put it off.” He spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper. “If you ever come near my woman again, I will gut you like a fish and leave you flopping on the ground, wishing you were dead. Are we clear?”
His words sent a chill through her and she couldn’t resist peeking around Drake’s broad back to see how they were received.
Etienne’s grin only widened and Willa found herself wondering if maybe he was a little touched in the head. Drake sure as hell hadn’t sounded like he was kidding, but the Frenchman seemed unfazed.
“I understand, my old friend, although I have to admit, I’m confused.” He leaned forward almost imperceptibly and his nostrils flared as he drew in a breath. “You call her your mate, but we both know that’s not exactly true, now is it?” Drake tensed at her side and she instinctively closed a hand around his forearm.
“Still,” Etienne said, taking a step back and holding up one hand in mock surrender. “We’ve known each other a long time, so I won’t press the issue. For now. Should the lady decide that she tires of your company again? Well,” he flashed his teeth again, and this time, the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I can’t make any promises.”
He dipped into a half bow in Willa’s direction and backed away, keeping his eyes locked on her for far too long. Then, he turned, stuffed his hands into his pockets and sauntered across the parking lot like he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Cocky son of a bitch,” Drake muttered. “Big talk when there are humans around.”
He faced her, his dark eyes simmering with banked fury.
“I know we went over this once already, but I need you to say it one more time. No more half-baked escape attempts. I need your word on this.”
“I guess so. But, now that I’ve met him in a more civil fashion, he doesn’t seem all that scary,” she admitted with a shrug. “You made it sound like he was some evil beast who was going to eat me for supper if he caught me.”
“He’s not evil, but he is most definitely interested in eating you, little wolf. Just not the way you imagined.”
She could feel heat bloom in her cheeks and she looked away.
His expression had turned heart attack serious, and she released the hold she still had on his arm and took a step back. “Please, promise me. I don’t want to have to kill him, Willa.”
She wet her lips and nodded, shoving aside the prickle of guilt. She wasn’t a dragon, after all. She was a wolf. And while she took pride in behaving honorably in most cases, she had no qualms about lying to a veritable kidnapper. Besides, she wouldn’t technically be breaking a promise.
Her next escape attempt would be fully baked.
She’d make sure of it.
“Scout’s honor.” She held up three fingers and wiggled them. “Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”
She scurried away, not waiting to see if he followed, and pushed in through the door of the crowded little diner. That display of dominance with Etienne should’ve had her p
issed off and ready to fight. Instead, she was a little flattered by the attention, and a lot hot and bothered. Any space she could get from him, even if it was fleeting, was like manna from heaven to her right now.
Before she could give her libido another lecture, the scent of fried eggs and bacon filled her nostrils and her stomach growled.
Business first, then food.
She turned to face Drake who’d pulled up behind her and was leaning on the long, Formica counter, gazing up at the chalkboard specials menu on the back wall.
“Why don’t you order for us while I go to the bathroom? I’ve been holding it since we got into town.”
His perceptive eyes searched her own and she willed herself not to fidget.
Think innocent thoughts.
He held her gaze for a second longer before finally nodding and glancing at his watch. “If you’re not out in five minutes, I’ll be coming in to check on you, ladies room or no.”
She started to argue out of habit but then stopped herself. It wasn’t important. Even if the bathroom had a window to climb out of, she didn’t fool herself into thinking she could get away from him on open ground, even with a four and a half minute head start. To accomplish an escape on her own, she needed to get to tree cover that his dragon form would be too large to navigate. In lieu of that, she’d have to find some accomplices if she hoped to get away.
“K,” she chirped over her shoulder as she made her way toward the restroom sign. “Be back in a jiff.” She managed to keep her pace slow and measured, even though adrenaline was pumping through her, demanding that she run.
She stepped into the cramped, three-stall bathroom and realized, with growing excitement, that one of the stall doors was closed.
“Hello?” she called softly.
There was a long pause before a low, gritty voice called back. “Yes?”
“Hello, there. My name is Willa Stone, and, um...” She smoothed back her hair as the door separating them swung open to reveal a withered little lady with a nut-brown, wrinkled face blinking up at her owlishly.
Damn. She looked old enough to have known Alexander Graham Bell personally. The odds of her having a cell phone were slim to none.
Willa cleared her throat and pressed on, determined not to give up so easily. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but my car is on the fritz up the road. I was wondering if you might be able to tell me if there is a nearby pay phone I might use so I could call a mechanic friend to come check it out for me?”
If there was one close enough, she could hop out the window and back in again before her time was up.
Maybe.
“That’s a shame, dear. I’m not sure about a pay phone, but you can use my iPhone to call someone if you like.”
Surprise and relief rushed through her in equal measure and she nodded gratefully. “Oh, that would be lovely. I promise, I won’t talk long. I just want to let my…brother know where I am so he can come get me.”
She waited as her new friend took a full minute to wash her hands and then another to dig through her giant, carpetbag-style purse. After commissioning Willa to hold several dozen pink sugar substitute packets and a paper napkin wrapped around a half-eaten dinner roll, she finally pulled out a rhinestone-embellished phone with a triumphant cackle.
“Here it is. Go right ahead, dear.”
Willa handed back the woman’s diner spoils and took the phone in a trembling hand.
The moment she’d been planning for hours was at hand, only now, she couldn’t think of what to say.
“Hey, Grey. I know you’re married to someone else, and I left the pack with my parents who called you an incompetent alpha and an oath-breaker, but can you help a sister out? I’ve got some dragon trouble, here.”
She shifted from foot to foot and stared at the phone, nerves jangling in her belly like a marching band.
“Is everything all right, dear?”
The older woman’s face was pinched with concern and Willa was quick to reassure her. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just so used to having my contacts in my phone, I forgot the number for a second.” She smiled and quickly punched in the digits, taking a quick look at the time.
Two minutes before Drake made good on his threat to barge in.
The phone rang in her ear and she swallowed hard, working up some moisture in her suddenly dry mouth.
“Hello?”
Not Grey. A woman’s voice. Grey’s mate.
Excellent. More humiliation.
She squeezed her eyes closed and took a steadying breath.
"M-Maggie?" she murmured, all too aware of the phone's owner watching her. She tried to keep her tone light and her facial expression neutral. The last thing she wanted was to make a scene and raise suspicions. She was pretty sure Drake was telling the truth about that skull throne in his great room not being made out of his leftovers, but she’d only known him for a few days, so who could say for sure? But she definitely didn't want this woman's gnarly death-by-fire on her conscience.
“Yes, can I help you?” Maggie’s tone was still pleasant but confused.
"It's Willa. Listen, I didn't know who else to call, but I really need you to get a message to Grey for me. I'm, um..." She went totally blank as the stress of the ticking clock increased, and her volatile emotions threatened to drown her. "Look, I'm in Bedford Township and ran into some trouble. I’m hoping…someone can get me from…I mean, meet me near Drake Blackbourne's place and take a look at my car."
“Willa! I’m so glad you called. Was there an accident? Are you all right?” Maggie still sounded understandably confused but also sympathetic, which sent a shaft of despair through Willa’s heart. “Grey was so distraught by the way things went down between you, I know he’ll want to talk to you. Let me find him and have him call you right b-”
“No! I mean, this isn’t my phone. I ran into some,” she swallowed the lump that had lodged itself in her throat, “mechanical trouble, and I just need him to…”
She trailed off as a terrible thought occurred to her. Needed him to what? Come to Drake’s stony lair of darkness and rescue her?
At what cost?
If Grey came alone, he’d be dragon chow. And if he brought the whole Big Sky Canyon pack? She wasn’t sure they’d fair much better.
But she’d be lying to herself if she said that was her only worry. If the Big Sky pack did come in full force and managed to get the drop on Drake, then he could also be killed in the fray.
The silence stretched over the line and Willa made her decision on a dime.
“You know what, I’m good. I shouldn’t have called. Thanks for being so gracious, Maggie. I really appreciate it. I-I’ve got to go.”
“Wait, are you certain? Because we can-”
“No. Calling was a mistake. It’s all good, I swear. Sorry to cut it short, but I do have to run. Bye, Maggie.” She drew the phone away from her ear and depressed the disconnect button.
"Everything all right, dear?"
"Yes," she forced a smile and nodded, handing back the phone to her new friend with an internal whimper. “I just realized as I was talking to my sister-in-law that I hadn’t checked the gas tank. I don’t want my brother to know I’m such a ditz. He’ll never let me forget it. There’s a gas station right across the street, so I’m going to run over and grab a gas can. Problem solved. But thanks so much for letting me use your phone.”
The woman took the cell with a smile and dropped it into her bag before bustling out the door.
Willa glanced in the mirror at her own stricken face and sucked in a shuddering breath.
It was going to be okay. She’d have other chances to get away that wouldn’t put lives at risk. Maybe when they took their trip into Bozeman. In the meantime, she’d be safe enough. Drake was a lot of things, but he wasn't cruel.
Now if she could just keep her hands off him until then, she'd be solid.
Chapter Eleven
Half a minute.
Thirty seconds more, and he would ha
ve no choice but to go in after her. Etienne had made no bones about his intentions. The quicker Drake got his wife back up the mountain, the better. She might not recognize the threat the Frenchman posed, but Drake was all too aware.
"Did you place our order yet? I’m starving," Willa said as she came rushing toward him from the restroom vestibule.
He released a breath and some of the tension left him. “No, not yet.”
He wasn't sure what she'd been up to in there, and he was glad she’d come back, but she looked guilty as hell. Luckily, as hard as she was fake smiling, she was also gritting her teeth. Whatever she'd tried to pull had clearly not gone her way. Besides, she hadn’t tried to jump out a window to escape him this time, and that was progress.
He set his focus back on the menu in front of him.
"It's supposed to start storming again and we want to make sure we get back up the mountain before the road floods out. I was thinking we could get some food to go, and we'll eat at home in front of the fire."
Willa's smile faded and her throat worked as she swallowed audibly. "Um, yeah. Sure, okay."
Again, his senses buzzed, a low warning bell. She was looking a little panicky again and a panicked Willa was a reckless one. So what had her all worked up?
Memories of the two of them in front of the fire rose up and singed him with their heat.
Right.
"Or we can eat in the den in front of the TV," he said casually, pinning his gaze to the plastic menu in his hand.
She let out a shaky sigh and sat down in the stool next to him. "That sounds good. I didn't even know you had a TV. Doesn't fit at all with the spooky-ass, Scooby Doo villain vibe of the rest of the place," she said.
She already sounded a little more at ease and he congratulated himself on that.
"You haven't seen most of the place. I assure you, aside from the medieval looking great room, it's everything a person could want in a home. Now that you seem to be feeling a little better, maybe I can give you the grand tour after dinner. We have an extensive library and there is an observatory with the best views in the state, if I do say so myself."
