Wolf's Desire

by Kirk, Ambrielle

  Aiden Price’s job was to protect her while she took investigations into her own hands. She’d been a little surprised. She’d never seen or spoken to Aiden before today. The scouting of the security firm where Aiden worked had been left up to her lawyer. What she expected was someone older, bulkier, and grittier looking. But what she got was the handsome man waiting right outside the door.

  He couldn’t have been over forty. Something about the youthfulness in his eyes and vigilance in his gait demonstrated that. He was fairly tall. Taller than most men she knew. And lean. Even the black blazer he wore over the white shirt didn’t disguise the muscle and tone in his physique. Despite the hint of a five o’ clock shadow on the lower part of his face, he was considerably well groomed.

  Keira swung her legs over the window seat and slipped her feet inside her flats. Swallowing the bout of hesitation that had suddenly risen up in her throat, she met the handsome Aiden Price in the hallway.

  Aiden regarded her momentarily, his dark gaze sweeping across her body. Had she blinked, she would have missed the way the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile for one split second. The attention didn’t make her feel uncomfortable, but it did send a surge of hope through her.

  “I’ll give you a tour of the premises. Why don’t we start with your room so you can drop off your bags?” She started off down the hallway, and he followed. “Next we’ll move out to the grounds and then work our way back inside.”

  As she led the way further down the hallway near the guest room where Aiden would be staying, she could feel his stare directly on her. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but somehow his presence made her at ease. Of course it did. He was her bodyguard.

  “This is where you’ll be staying.” She turned the doorknob and swung the door open. “Right next to the master just as you requested.”

  Aiden walked inside and dropped his bags into the chest near the foot of the bed. He peered around the room, observing the interior from top to bottom.

  “There is an attached bath off to the right so you have your privacy.” She walked over to a window on the far end and pulled back the curtains. “Sometimes it gets a little hot in the mornings with the way the sun rises and the location of the room. Guests have told me that if they sleep with the ceiling fan on or the windows open that it helps a bit. If you find that you’re uncomfortable, we can move you to the smaller guest room two doors down and adjacent to the other bath.”

  “No,” he said, quickly. “This will be fine.”

  “At what times do you have your meals?” she asked.

  He entered the adjoining bath and peered around in it as well. “The same time as you.”

  “I…ah…I kind of have them sporadically throughout the day.”

  He gave her another complete once over before saying, “Then we have something in common.” The muscles in his arm rippled as he closed the door shut behind them. “I’m usually up at the break of dawn.”

  She smiled. “Early to rise and early to bed?”

  His smile was quick—and just like that—it disappeared. “More like early to rise, and lucky if I make it to bed before it’s time to get up again.”

  “A hard worker, I presume?”

  He nodded. “I try to be.”

  “Well, let’s hope you get better sleep this time around.”

  After showing him the various rooms in the house, they moved outside. He took everything in with a cautious stare. There was something about his observant nature that she found quite peculiar. At one point, their gazes met for longer than usual. She noted the mix of colors—greens and blues—around his irises. The kaleidoscope of hues made it difficult to pinpoint what color his eyes truly were. Cerulean, maybe.

  “Do you mind me asking you how you came to live in this town? Do you have any ties to it?” she asked. Had he known about the tragedy that happened here a year earlier? It had been headlined in almost every newspaper in the country, or so it had seemed that way.

  Ellis Import Owner Murdered At His Estate, it had said.

  “I live wherever my assignments take me…until recently.”

  “What do you mean…until recently?”

  “Prior to accepting this job, I retired from the profession.”

  Keira waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. It seemed that he was more concerned with checking out the outdoor shed they’d just entered. “How is it that you’re still working right now?”

  Aiden turned to look at her, but his expression did not change. “There are many reasons for accepting an assignment. Sometimes for the money. Sometimes for the challenge. And sometimes because no one else can or will do the job.”

  “And for which reason did you accept this one?”

  “Neither. I found your case to be unordinary. I’m here because I wanted the assignment.”

  Keira bit her lower lip. She had to respect him for telling the truth. She’d known that her lawyer requested only the best and most skilled bodyguards, but it was also good to know that someone hadn’t forced Aiden to be here against his will. “You look awfully young. Most retire in their sixties, and you look nowhere near that number.”

  He grinned. “I’m not like most.”

  Before she knew it, they were across the field heading toward the grape orchard. A cool evening breeze brushed against her face, and the smell of ripened Concords swept up with the wind. It had been a while since she’d ventured out here. The place had always been somewhere to enjoy time away from the house in nature and in peace and quiet.

  Jamison used to love it, especially for reading in the afternoons.

  “How old are you?” she asked. He did look young, but the maturity in his eyes told her that he’d seen much more life than she had.

  “Thirty-five.”

  “Thirty-five is very young. You’re lucky that you don’t have to work until you’re old and gray.”

  “For me, retired doesn’t mean you never should work again.”

  This statement gave her pause, and she looked at him questioningly. “Then what’s the point of retiring?”

  He seemed to hesitate before saying, “This career is not my only responsibility. Retiring from this one ensures more time to dedicate to the other.”

  “What else do you do?”

  Winds gushed by again wiping at her back as they walked through the fields and past the pergola and wrought iron benches. Several butterflies skirted along the row of flowers beside the path.

  “I’m one of about a handful of board members who oversee the operations and finances of an organization…so to speak.”

  “So to speak?”

  Aiden smiled. “You ask many questions. I’m here to assist you, thus should I not be asking the questions.”

  “Depends.” She shrugged.

  “On what?”

  “Should I not know the man who will be guarding me for the next four months?”

  “I’ll answer your questions to the best of my knowledge, but be careful what you ask.”

  She wondered if that was a real warning, and if she should leave the discussion about his mysterious organization alone.

  “Where are the peaches?” he asked as they headed back toward the house.

  Keira stopped along the stone path leading up to the backside of the wrap-around porch. “What peaches?”

  “I’ve seen the grape orchard, but do you grow peaches nearby? I can smell them.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t know anyone around here that grows peaches.”

  “It’s you then…”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Your perfume smells like peaches,” he said.

  She laughed softly. She couldn’t help it. “I don’t wear perfume. I haven’t in a long time. Jamison had allergies. Maybe peaches are on the menu for dinner tonight. Which reminds me…dinner will be served at six thirty tonight? You will join me then so we can finish the discussion about your organization?”

  “I wasn’t planning on missing it.�
� Aiden followed her up the steps. “But ideally the topic of discussion during our first official meeting should be you.”

  Keira turned, and found herself literally inches away from Aiden. He was more than a few heads taller than her. She had to lift her chin sharply to meet his gaze. The air around them was fairly warm, which was expected for the beginning of the summer weather. But his body heat radiated around them, increasing the temperature even more.

  “I’m not all that interesting, Aiden Price,” she whispered.

  “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that, Keira Ellis?”

  Chapter Three

  True to this word Aiden literally stayed no more than one room away at all times. Even when Keira was getting ready for dinner, he stood outside of the master bedroom and waited.

  She couldn’t remember the last time someone paid her this much attention, but then she had to remind herself that this was his job. He was getting paid to do it. It dawned on her that he didn’t even have to like her.

  Before she could fold the cloth napkin out over her lap, Aiden left her side and retreated to stand near the dinner hutch near the door. He took a stiff stance next to the wall and stared straight ahead. Was this what he did at all his jobs?

  Keira cleared her throat. “What are you doing?”

  He looked at her, his eyes drawn together, as if confused. “I’m standing in your dining room.”

  “I know that, but wouldn’t you like to eat dinner?”

  “I can eat once you retire to bed.”

  “Okay,” she said, slowly. “Maybe you misunderstood, but I had a formal dinner prepared specifically for your arrival. I know you’re here to work, but you’re still very much a guest in the home.”

  “You don’t need to arrange such formalities for me.”

  “Aren’t you hungry?” she asked.

  His gaze swept over the table, but he didn’t say a word.

  “Please come join me,” she urged.

  A moment of pause followed, and she thought he would decline, but then there was a slight shift in his demeanor before he came to take a seat across from her.

  As it had been doing most of the day, Keira’s stomach grumbled. She pushed her coyness aside, pulled the salad plate closer, and poured on a good helping of Italian dressing. The first bite roused her taste buds and she was more than halfway done with the hearty chef salad before she realized that Aiden hadn’t even touched his fork. He was eyeing her, with a bit of amusement marking his face.

  Her cheeks heated, and she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with the napkin. “I’m so embarrassed. I was just very hungry. I’m sorry.”

  He smiled. “No need for apology.”

  “You don’t like the salad?” she asked. “I can have them bring something different.”

  “The salad is fine.” He scooped up a hefty portion and began to eat.

  His jaws moved slowly and meticulously, and she couldn’t help but be drawn to examine him as he’d been doing with her since he’d arrived. With only a few feet separating them across the round table, there was no way she could hide her observation. As he bowed his head slightly to devour the rest of the salad, heavy eyebrows framed his face, thick eyelashes hooded his eyes giving him a mysterious guise. His facial features were prominent, the jawline strong and refined. The hint of stubble along his face gave him an edgier look. His dark brown hair was cut short and neat as though he’d only just left the barber.

  She wondered just how much danger he encountered on a daily basis. Her contact had ensured her that they had hired one of the best, but had they told him about the events surrounding the reason for her request? The manner in which Jamison died? The threats on her life? The recent break-in? Was he prepared for her troubles?

  “How long have you been a bodyguard?”

  “Fifteen years,” he said.

  “Impressive. What made you choose that profession?”

  “I had an uncle who was in this line of work. He taught me everything he knew.”

  They both cut into their salmon, taking a few bites. Aiden seemed pleased with the food. Keira couldn’t remember the last time she had a guest or had invited anyone to dinner after the tragedy. The neighbors that came over in the past when Jamison had the urge to entertain were still rattled by his murder. Some of them even shunned her reminding her that the community had once been a safe place to live before that night.

  “It’s a dangerous job, isn’t it?” Keira asked. “What do your parents think about your work?”

  He nodded. “My life has been threatened hundreds of times. I don’t take these threats lightly, but I have gotten used to them. As for my parents, they have accepted my choice, but not happily.”

  “Then you and I have something in common, but at least you pursued your dreams,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I worked as a seamstress in the hopes of later becoming a fashion designer and opening up my own dress shop. My mom is a nurse and my father is a doctor. They wanted me to pursue medicine and join their practice.”

  “I reviewed your files,” he said, following her lead and cutting into the second half of his salmon. “Unless there was a mistake, it says that you don’t work outside of the home.”

  “There is no mistake. When I married Jamison, I sort of agreed to work close to home, if not within it. He ran most of his business out of this estate as well, so the request didn’t seem that unusual at the time.”

  “You were only twenty three years old when you married Mr. Ellis. There’s quite a gap in age between the two of you.”

  Keira placed her hands in her lap, not feeling hungry anymore. “Jamison and my father were very good friends prior to me meeting him. Our household was going through a rough time back then. Jamison was old-fashioned. He asked my father for his permission to marry me, and in the process offered my father something he couldn’t turn down.”

  “Your father didn’t mind the age difference either?”

  “Not at the time. It wasn’t until Jamison and I moved that he began to voice his real opinions. It was too late because I’d already decided what I wanted. I grew even further apart from my parents after that decision.”

  “When was the last time you spoke with them?”

  Keira frowned. “At Jamison’s funeral.” She remembered it like it was yesterday. The horrid look in her parent’s eyes as Jamison was put to rest. The body was so badly mutilated that she’d insisted on a closed casket at the wake and burial.

  Shortly after the funeral her mother had asked her what she’d gotten herself into, as if she’d had some hand in all of this happening. But she could tell her parents were just scared. They wanted no part in the danger of it all. Keira was left to deal with the loss alone, praying she wasn’t the next victim.

  “I’m sorry to bring back these memories, but I have to ask these questions. I’m here to protect you, but I also need to understand the full extent of the threats to your life to prepare for the worst. I’m sure you know what my next question will be?”

  She swallowed, but it did nothing to moisten her dry throat. “I don’t know why they killed my husband.”

  “They?”

  “One of the killers was found dead last week floating in a pond. His name was Leonard. He sat on the company’s board several months prior to his death. The case was recently closed and it was noted that Leonard held a grudge against Jamison and brutally murdered him out of spite.”

  Aiden sat back in his chair. “It doesn’t look like you believe this.”

  “There is no doubt there was some sort of falling out between he and Leonard, but the plot to kill Jamison did not happen overnight. And he didn’t act alone.”

  “Someone else aided him?”

  “Leonard wasn’t the man who delivered the death blow that killed Jamison.” She paused, and her gaze ran across the patterns on the table cloth. Why was she recounting the story for what seemed like the hundredth time? No one every believed her side of it. “
There was no earthly way a man could have done what that thing did to Jamison.”

  “What happened to Jamison? What do you mean that thing?”

  “He had an attack dog with him. Some kind of rabid wolf.” She shook her head lightly, trying to dispel the image. “His throat…the thing tore out—” Before she could finish her sentence disgust rose to her throat and she clutched her tightened chest.

  “You’re still upset about it.” Aiden’s expression turned from hardened to remorseful.

  “Do you feel the need to quit now? After I’ve told you this…?”

  “I’m not one to back down,” Aiden said, in a low but firm voice. “Can you tell me more about the wolf? Did they find him?”

  “No one believes me, not even my lawyer. But there was a wolf…there really was.” A sharp pain tugged inside her head. A migraine. She hated them. Evidently the memories were still too much for her to handle. Keira rose from the table and tossed the cloth napkin next to her half eaten entrée. “I don’t feel well. Talking about that night has never been easy for me.”

  “I understand.” Aiden rose and reached for her. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  When his gentle hand made contact with her forearm, she paused, almost forgetting her sordid past. His touch felt so right, smooth and reassuring against her skin. In that moment, she didn’t want to let go.

  Keira slowly lifted her gaze to meet his smoldering eyes. His pupils contracted reminding her of something exotic, feral…and animalistic. He was close. Close enough that she could feel his body vibrating against her.

  Like this—so near to him—she could see the perfection in his skin tone and his facial features. He smelled of the forest after a rain storm. She closed her eyes and imagined herself among thick green foliage, waterfalls, and beautiful prairies. Anywhere else but here, in the midst of tragedy and danger. Taking a deep breath, she let his scent engulf her and her headache began to subside. But she knew, without a doubt, that it would take more than his intoxicating smell and protection to erase the bad memories.

  When she opened her eyes again, their bodies were pressed together. She wondered if she’d moved against him in the heat of the moment. Or did he? His gaze shifted across her face and his lips were slightly parted. It had been years since she’d been this close to a man.