by Marilu Mann
Micah waited patiently near the fireplace. He stoked the fire and pulled the screen closed when he heard Olivia coming down the stairs. He grinned briefly at the picture she made, realizing how often he’d smiled since she walked downstairs this morning. He moved closer to the long couch and picked up the gloves and hat he’d left there.
She’d followed his advice, dressing in several layers, but he could still distinguish her scent. His eyebrows went straight up when he took a second whiff. Olivia emitted the scent of a recently satisfied woman. He allowed an internal smug male grin. She was definitely letting him know she was interested in him in a very specific shifter way.
A female used her scent to drive the males crazy. Still, he had to ask her who her Pack was before he could go there. Micah avoided Pack politics at all costs, but he couldn’t afford pissing off her family. If she had a family.
If she was Packless-that brought on a whole new set of problems. Knowing that many shifters who lived outside Packs didn’t advertise their abilities, he couldn’t come right out and ask if she was a shifter. He thought he’d be able to steer the conversation exactly where he wanted it to go without embarrassing either of them.
“Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Exactly how cold is it out there?”
“The thermometer says eight below. With the wind chill, it’s probably more like fifteen below. We won’t stay out long, just enough to get some fresh air.” She gaped at him and Micah chuckled softly. “As long as you don’t have any exposed skin and you’re dressed in layers, you’ll be fine.”
Olivia nodded as she tucked her camera into a padded carrier. “I learned the hard way the first time I did any cold weather photography.” She stuffed some small disks in her shirt pocket.
“Cold kills the batteries,” she said in response to his curious look. “So I always keep extras on me. The closer they are to my skin the warmer they stay. And warm is good.”
Micah’s breath caught. Lucky batteries. What I wouldn’t give to be one of them, snuggling up to those luscious breasts. He handed her one of the wool hats he’d pulled out of the downstairs closet.
“Here, try this on.” I need to distract myself from this female before I pounce on her.
The cherry-red-colored one had drawn him just because of the color of her lips. She pulled it on, tucking her hair up under it, making sure her ears were covered. Micah moved closer, wrapping a matching scarf around her neck. He let his fingers trail across her jaw, pretending not to notice her own swift intake of air.
Olivia’s eyes seemed to double in size and he realized he still held the ends of the scarf. He dropped them and stepped back, pulling his own wool hat on. His knuckles tingled from grazing her soft skin.
She tucked her hands into the red mittens he handed her and they stepped out onto the porch. Micah pulled his fingerless gloves on then took two pair of snowshoes down from the rack by the door.
“We need to be down on the walk to do this. You don’t want to try to navigate stairs in snowshoes.”
Her smile warmed him from the inside out, shooting straight to his cock. Micah sent up a prayer of thanks that they were outside in the cold. The bitter temperatures were going to be his friend. He knelt in front of Olivia.
“The important thing is to make sure they stay on.” He cupped her calf in his hand. “You have great muscles. Do you work out?”
Her smile nearly melted the snow underneath him. “No, I just walk a lot when I’m doing my shoots.”
Micah finished fastening the snowshoes on her feet. She listened attentively as he explained how to walk in them. He pulled a pair of mittens on over the fingerless gloves after he fastened his own snowshoes.
They stepped carefully into the snow, Micah holding his hand out to Olivia to keep her from falling over. She followed his motions as he led the way around the lodge. She laughed when she wobbled and he fought the urge to step back and pick her up. The idea of her body curled in his arms raised his internal temperature to thermonuclear.
“You’re doing great, Olivia. Let’s keep this short though. It takes more out of you than you know. You need to get used to it first.” A click answered him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that he was the focus of her lens. He laughed when she gave him a saucy grin.
Micah took her down the path he knew she’d run the night before. He dropped back to be beside her but nothing on her face indicated that she remembered the evening. He wondered why she didn’t say something. He knew she’d scented him that morning. Normal shifter behavior but she was anything but a normal shifter.
They walked the path for ten minutes. Olivia’s eye rarely left the viewfinder of her camera. She seemed fascinated with the way the sunlight streamed through the snow-encrusted trees. He wondered if she would show him what she saw through that lens.
Her hair lit up as the sun touched the few exposed strands. Micah imagined pressing his lips into her sun-warmed tresses when they got back inside the lodge. Glancing at his watch, he knew they needed to head back.
“Time to go in, Liv.” Shortening her name came naturally. Rarely did he feel this at ease around anyone much less a woman he’d only known for less than twenty-four hours. She smiled at him as she obediently turned around. Or tried to.
The look of surprise on her face when she stepped on her own snowshoe and toppled over had Micah roaring with laughter as he reached down to help her up.
“Laughing is not very nice, ‘Mr. I Was Born Doing This’.” Olivia’s mouth quirked at the corners belying the anger she tried to lace into her words. One hand held her camera high overhead as she accepted his hand to pull her to her feet. She dusted off her shapely rear. “So I take it you have to watch your feet when you make directional changes?”
“Absolutely, and I wasn’t born here, Liv. I grew up in New Mexico. But when I found this place, this area, I knew I was meant to be here.” He looked around, taking a deep breath. “This is my home.”
Olivia stood perfectly still, a look of such yearning on her face he almost gave in to his earlier impulse to pick her up. She definitely brought out protective urges in him. Micah moved as though to draw nearer to her and tripped on his own snowshoe. Her laughter as he pinwheeled his arms to keep his balance drew him in almost as much as her scent. He gained his equilibrium again and shelved his desire for this woman. For right now, he needed to get them both back inside.
Micah chuckled as he led the way back to the front doors of the lodge. She stumbled against him just as they reached the stairs. Catching her, he reminded himself that they were outside in subzero weather and she hadn’t given him any sign of real interest yet. Still, if only she didn’t have the scarf up over her mouth. It would have been the perfect moment to kiss this fascinating female. Instead he unfastened his snowshoes then hers and hung them back up on the rack as Olivia tried to catch her breath.
They went back into the lodge and removed their outer layers. Olivia placed her camera, still in its bag, on the table.
“Do you need to warm that up?” Micah indicated the camera but Olivia put a protective hand over it.
“No thanks. It needs to do that slowly or the condensation can ruin it. I paid too much money for that baby to screw up another one.”
Micah watched Olivia shiver. “Come on, I’ll make you some cocoa.”
“It’s really cold out there.”
He steered her toward the kitchen. “You’ll warm up soon enough. In fact, you can sit by the fire if you’d rather. I’ll bring the cocoa in to you there.” He pointed toward the living room, hoping she’d refuse and join him in the kitchen.
“That would be lovely.” She smiled up at him and Micah fought the instinct to pull her into his arms and nuzzle his face into her hair. Her eyes flashed-definite interest in a shifter. He stood perfectly still to keep from drawing her into his arms and delivering the kiss he’d thought about on the porch.
Her neck convulsed as she swallowed hard. Her eyes lost the glint an
d she waved her hands vaguely between them as though she were warding off unwelcome feelings.
“I’ll just go wait in here.” She turned her back on him, moving into the living room.
Micah took a deep breath, closed his eyes briefly, then whirled around and nearly ran down the hall to the kitchen. The last thing he needed to do was get physical with one of his guests. However, the more time he spent with her, the more convinced he became that she was a shifter, specifically, the she-wolf he’d seen and scented in the woods.
He made quick work of heating some milk, adding cocoa powder and sugar. Stirring the concoction until it was frothy and steaming, he added a little vanilla and cinnamon, thinking of Olivia’s sweet spicy scent as he did so. Pouring the mixture into two large mugs, he moved back down the hall.
She sat on one of the large footstools near the fire, her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them. Lifting her head, she smiled as Micah came into the room. He took three steps across the room and knelt beside her stool. He handed her one of the mugs, setting the other one down on the floor.
Pulling the screen aside, he stirred the fire and placed another log on the irons. He could feel her watching him. If he turned his head just a little he’d be able to see her. Doing so, he met her eyes, caught again by their unique color. Somewhere between sky and powder blue, they sparkled like the snow outside when the sun hit it just right. For a long moment, neither of them moved, both seeming suspended as the atmosphere around them thickened.
Finally, she blinked and he was able to look away. He looked instead at the fire, feeling the heat on his face as well as in the rest of his body. Micah knew that Olivia was the source of the heat coursing through him. It had been a very long time since a shifter female had stirred him as much as this one did. He also knew from that feeling that the two of them would be lovers before she left the lodge.
Something also told him there would be more to it than that. His grandfather, the wisest shaman he’d ever known, had always told him he’d know, down in his soul, when he met the woman fated to be his mate. The feeling churning in his gut told him it might very well be the woman sitting next to him also staring at the fire.
Olivia cleared her throat, smiling as Micah settled onto the rug beside her stool. “So, thank you for taking me out today. I didn’t realize there was so much involved in walking around in snowshoes.”
“Wait until we go cross-country skiing.” Micah didn’t try to hide the humor in his voice and a slight shiver went through him when she laughed. The sound enchanted him and he immediately wanted to hear more of it.
“Oh no, I’m already sore. I remember how stiff I got the last time I went skiing. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel then.” She stretched her legs out in front of her and Micah let his gaze go from her ankles to the juncture of her thighs. He wanted to offer to massage the soreness away but wouldn’t do so until she gave him a clearer signal of her own interest.
He turned his face back toward the fireplace, unwilling to stare. Her scent reached him again, the smell of oranges wrapping around his senses.
Micah closed his eyes. The urge to pull her into his arms to softly stroke her neck then let his hands wander down the curve of her breasts nearly overwhelmed him. He couldn’t give in. He had to wait.
As a she-wolf, the first move was up to her. If she wanted him, she’d let him know. He could make his interest known, but he wasn’t usually that overt. He knew that among humans the male usually made the first move, but in shifter communities, the female would always let her desires be known.
If they were in a Pack situation, it would be different. As the dominant male, he would be the only one she could offer herself to unless he gave her permission to seek out another or if he were already mated. Since they weren’t in a Pack, he waited.
Picking up his cup, Micah sipped absently at the cooling cocoa, waiting for even the smallest sign from Olivia. The silence stretched between them and he felt her relax beside him. Finally she sat forward, putting her cup on the floor. He turned his head to watch her push her hair back behind her ears then met her gaze as she raised her eyes to his. Here it comes. Now she’ll say something and we’ll be able to make love.
“So, Micah, what do you do when you’re not here? Gareth kind of gave the impression that you were gone for several months at a time.”
He stared for a moment then blinked slowly, pulling his testosterone back under control. She isn’t interested? Damn. How could I be so wrong about this attraction?
Clearing his throat, Micah tried to decide what to tell her. He didn’t want it widely known that he was a bond enforcement agent, especially since her article would include pictures. He hadn’t fully retired from the life as yet.
“What I tell you about my other profession needs to be off the record.”
“Excuse me?” She looked him straight in the eye and Micah had to force himself to sit perfectly still. It’s not a challenge. Don’t overreact.
“I work as a bond enforcement agent, Olivia. If you spread that around and include my picture, I won’t be able to effectively perform my duties.”
“You’re a bounty hunter?”
He heard the interest in her voice and sighed. Why did people, women in particular, find that such a glamorous profession? There isn’t anything glamorous about chasing felons across the country only to turn them over to local law enforcement. Unless you like spending hours doing nothing more than watching and waiting for the prey.
“Yes.” He tried to infuse as much reluctance into his tone as he could, hoping she’d get the hint that he really didn’t want to talk about it. Fortunately, she seemed to be as attuned to his desires-at least the more passive ones-as he was to hers and she let it drop.
“Well, that’s interesting, but I’m really here to write about winter sports. So tell me, what’s your favorite winter sport?”
Micah had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her what sport he’d like to engage in with her. When he was sure he could control his unruly thoughts, he took a deep breath. “I prefer cross-country skiing.”
“Really, why is that?”
He could almost see her taking mental notes so he moved over to the desk in the corner and pulled out a notepad and pen, handing them to her. She smiled up at him from her position on the footstool, taking the paper and pen. Her smile called up those thoughts he’d just wrestled into submission. To see her face flushed with passion as he drove into her…but instead he had to satisfy her curiosity about her subject.
For the next twenty minutes, she asked countless questions about winter sports and he answered them. The clock on the mantle finally caught Micah’s attention and he rose to stretch then offered her his hand.
“Where are we going?” Though she asked first, she placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her to her feet. He relished the small sign of trust she’d offered. Maybe she just wanted to get to know him better before making her interest in him obvious?
“It’s lunchtime. I hoped you wouldn’t mind continuing this conversation in the kitchen while I make lunch.”
“Not at all.” She followed him down the hall, the sound of her footsteps a quiet counterpoint to his own. He saw her ensconced into a kitchen chair with another cup of hot cocoa then turned his attention to what they’d have for lunch. Settling on stew, he started pulling containers of frozen stew out of the walk-in freezer.
Though she balked a bit at the size of the bowl he put in front of her just a little while later, Micah was amused to watch Olivia eat. She had no difficulty with the broth or the vegetables, but she pushed the meat aside.
“Don’t you care for the stew?”
“Oh.” Her face flushed slightly as she glanced down at her bowl. “It’s wonderful, really. I’m just not much of a meat eater. Red meat isn’t supposed to be that good for you, you know?”
“It’s venison. Venison is very healthy.” He let his face relax into a smile as he watched her tentatively spoon up a piece of meat.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Less fat, more protein.”
“Do you hunt?” She tasted the meat, shrugged slightly and resumed eating.
“Frequently. Game is plentiful in this area and it all depends on what is in season.”
“Do you offer hunting packages to your guests?”
“No, hunting isn’t the main draw here. Don’t get me wrong, there are several times of the year when hunters flock to the woods-deer season is a sellout time for the lodge. However, since I own a lot of acreage and I’m bordered on one side by the reservation, hunters have to have my permission to hunt around my lodge and I rarely give it. I prefer that the game roam freely.”
He knew his eyes had bled to gold as he thought about his favorite kind of hunting. The kind that didn’t involve guns, but did give his animal side some exercise. Micah wondered if she’d like to join him on a hunt sometime. It became more obvious to him that she’d not spent much time with other shifters. She didn’t react to anything he said as a shifter normally would.
“Tell me about you, Olivia. Where do you live?”
“ New York, I just moved there from Miami. I grew up all over the East Coast, though.”
“Your family moved a lot?” Maybe they had been Packless.
“I don’t have any family. My mother died shortly after I was born and my father when I was five. He’d been in the Army, like you, but died of a heart attack while in the service.” She shrugged, closing her eyes briefly then opening them to smile at him. “I got lucky. I didn’t stay in the foster care system for long. I was just in two homes before the Decaturs adopted me.”
Micah couldn’t believe her parents hadn’t left her in the care of other shifters. “Weren’t there family friends?”
She shook her head. “Who knows? When my father died, we were living in Korea. The Army couldn’t find any information on his family or my mother’s so I became a ward of the state. That’s where the Decaturs found me. They were one of the best things to happen to me really.” Her eyes softened in memory.
