by Terry Spear
Reclining on the grass on her side, she watched him as he strode toward her, every hard muscle rippling with his gait. Yet, just the vision of him five months ago had been enough to bring her into her first wolf heat, way long overdue. How could a fantasy lover have brought that about?
She wanted to call out his name like a lover would her mate, but she couldn’t fathom what it was. The warm summer breeze stirred the Douglas firs, casting dancing moonlight across his body. His lips turned up slightly, bemused His mouth, his sturdy jaw line, his shoulder-length sable hair ruffled by the breeze. Show me more! She wanted to see his eyes, his nose, the rest of his face—but as much as she strained to see them, she couldn’t—the rest of his features remained hidden in the black void.
He towered over her, took in a deep breath, and tried to smell her. She saw the intake of his breath, knew what he was attempting to do. A queer feeling of unease washed over her. She squashed the unwelcome worry. He was not real. Just the most consummate lover a dream could conjure up.
He lay down beside her, and she ran her finger over his brow, finding it furrowed. For the first time since their union, he seemed contemplative, unrushed, as if he wanted more than the sex they shared.
Leaning over, he nuzzled her lips with his mouth, licking them, smiling. Positioning himself closer, he rested his head on his hand and appeared to study her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words would never come. He touched her hair, ran his fingers through the strands, held them to his nose and took a deep breath.
Could he smell her scent when she couldn‘t sense his?
He traced her arm, down to her hip, his heated touch stirring a fire across her sensitive skin. She drew close, pressing her breasts against his chest, took his face in her hands, and moved her lips against his in a searing kiss. She swore she heard him growl this time, but then he glanced over his shoulder, as if something in the woods had distracted him. Danger?
He shook his head and gave her a lusty smile. Knowingly, she returned the expression, her nipples already taut from touching his lightly furred chest, her short curly hairs damp with need, her core aching for his penetration.
In a heartbeat, he moved her onto her back, pushed her legs apart with his knee, and thrust his rigid shaft deep inside her. His mouth on hers, he conquered her, and she gave into the rush of heat, the burning desire he stirred within her, the flickering flames consuming her as she climbed toward the ice-white moon.
Their bodies slick, they slid against each other, panting, thrusting, deepening the bond until she felt the mind-shattering release, the orgasm crashing through her like a heated summer storm.
Muffled voices farther down the hail invaded Lelandi’s private, scattered thoughts.
Her dream lover slipped away into the shadows, vanishing, the moon winked out, and the sun took its place, peeking through the blinds. She wished she were back in the woods with her fantasy lover, no cares in the world but of being pleasured by him and pleasuring him in return. Groaning, Lelandi tried to run her hands through her tangled hair, her skin sweaty from her romp with him.
But something held her down—him?
Chapter 6
LELANDI OPENED HER EYES AND BRILLIANT WHITE LIGHTS flooded her vision. Where was the ceiling fan in her bedroom? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to orient herself. The odor of antiseptics filled the air. Her eyes popped open. White sheets, railings caging her in on an elevated narrow bed. What the...
She tried to reach up, to rub her temple as her thoughts spun out of control, but she couldn’t. Leather restraints wrapped around her wrists pinned her to the bed—not the man of her dreams.
Her sister. Oh, God, and her parents, too, were dead.
Tears filled her eyes and her heart lodged like a lump of stone in her throat. She sobbed with a strangled whimper and a teary haze blurred her vision. Yanking at the restraints, she fought the mounting frustration, her body heating by degrees.
Closing her eyes, she licked her dry lips. What she wouldn’t give for an icy pink lemonade. Summer heat had returned with a vengeance, and she felt like she’d been burned to a crisp under the broiling sun like she had at the beach in South Padre Island a few years back.
A rustling noise caught her attention—Silva searching through Lelandi’s purse.
Silva smiled, her ruby lips glistening with fresh gloss, a coating of brown eye shadow emphasizing the darkness of her coffee-colored eyes. “No driver’s license. How’d you get to Silver Town? No rental cars unaccounted for. Deputy Sheriff Trevor checked the cars parked around town, and none belong to a Larissa Catterton.”
It finally dawned on Lelandi. Her sister had switched first names with her. What a mess. “Catterton?”
Silva tsked. “So that wasn’t Lelandi’s last name.”
No, and Lelandi wasn’t her first name either, although no one had listened to her the times she’d corrected them before.
“So what is your real last name?” Silva poured a cup of ice water for her, then set it on the table.
With her wrists secured, Lelandi couldn’t reach the water. “Lelandi.” She wasn’t about to reveal her real last name. “I’m... I’m burning up.”
Silva’s eyes widened, and she hurried over to the bed. Her long, icy fingers touched Lelandi’s forehead, instantly sending a chili streaking down her heated nerves. “You’re burning up.”
“I already said that,” Lelandi whispered, annoyed.
“Okay, okay. I’ll get some help.”
“Can you unfasten my chains,” Lelandi said sarcastically. “help me to sit up, and give me some ice water to drink?”
Silva shifted her worried gaze to the wristbands confining her. “I’ll get the doc.”
“Doctor Weber,” Lelandi said, firmly.
“Uhm, you’re at the hospital in Silver Town, sugar. I’m sure Doctor Weber wouldn’t want to come all the way here from wherever you know him for one little ol’ patient.”
Lelandi yanked at the leather wrist bracelets to no avail.
If it had been a regular hospital, they probably would have used Velcro restraints, and those she could have tugged loose. She pulled at the restraints again, rattling the bed railings, but her movements were dulled and of no use, making her skin heat even more.
Satisfied Lelandi wasn’t getting loose, Silva left the room. Within minutes, her worried voice echoed down the hall while she spoke to someone about the fever. But before she or the doctor returned, a woman wearing blue scrubs walked into the room.
“I’m Nurse Grey.” The woman’s face was matronly, with kindly gray eyes and lips that were pale, but slightly turned up. “Looks like you’ve been rather cantankerous.”
“Not me.” Lelandi mumbled.
The nurse chuckled, the sound good-hearted, while she read Lelandi’s chart. “Busy girl. Heard some wild rumors. You’re looking into your sister’s death and already stirred up a heap of trouble.”
Lelandi had made a royal mess of it, but whoever had killed her sister was bound to slip up. When he did, she’d make him suffer for what he’d done. She closed her burning eyes.
“Seems a lot of trouble for a little red lupus garou to get into first time in Silver Town.”
Although the woman seemed nice enough. Lelandi didn’t trust her. Lelandi was probably giving their pack leader prime grade heartburn, and she wasn’t going away. Some would be wary, some outright rude, and some, sweet like Sam. Silva, and this Nurse Grey, but only on the surface. Deep down, pack mates stuck up for pack mates, and she was an outsider investigating them.
Tom was another story. He definitely indicated he had the hots for her, but she wasn’t biting.
“If you’ll behave, I’ll remove the restraints.” After Nurse Grey took her temperature, she frowned. “Hundred and three.” She changed her antibiotics and removed the restraints.
Lelandi let out a low growl, and the woman smiled. Yeah, wolves didn’t like confinement, and she was ready to bite anyone who’d helped res
train her, including Ritka and the doctor.
“Doc wants you to drink fluids, but slowly. You might feel nauseous from the surgery and pain medication.”
“Nurse Grey,” Silva said, walking into the room. “I thought you were off today and tomorrow.”
The nurse shrugged. “I thought so, too. Seems we had some trouble during the night.”
Lelandi hid a smile, then sipped cold water from a straw, shivered, and slumped back under her covers. If she didn’t get more energy soon, she’d scream.
“She sure isn’t like Lelandi.” Silva studied her as if she could see her insides, too.
Nurse Grey refilled Lelandi’s water cup. “Looks the same, except for the hair.”
“Can you imagine Lelandi taking on Ritka and her gang?”
The nurse smiled. “Guess I ought to go to the Silver Town Tavern more often. Sam said when he saw her walk into the joint, he knew it would shake Darien out of the pit of despair he’s been wallowing in.”
“Yeah, but in a good way, or bad?” Silva raised her brows to punctuate her statement. “You should have seen the way he kissed her.”
Nurse Grey glanced at Lelandi. “Already?”
“Hell, he wanted to kiss her in the tavern, but he was trying to keep up appearances.” Silva pushed her hair back over her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips. “She started talking about lupus garou, and he had to stop her. But the kiss lasted longer than necessary and made her pass right out. I’m sure when the other eligible bitches hear about it, they’ll be fuming.”
Nurse Grey’s eyes sparkled with intrigue.
“So, is she going to be all right?”
“When are we not? She’ll be fine. However, the fever makes it more of a setback. I notice on the chart, Doc says he’ll release her tomorrow. Might be too soon.”
“She should be in jail for popping Ritka in the eye,” a dark-haired man said as he strode into the room, his eyes black, his police khaki uniform perfectly pressed, a jacket slung over his shoulder. His Stetson shaded his eyes, giving him an even darker-tempered appearance.
Silva smiled at him. Well, more than smiled at him, nearly melted in his presence.
Truly smitten. Lelandi wondered if the same love bug had bitten him or if it was only a one-way street. He didn’t show the same kind of moonstruck attraction when he looked at Silva.
“Why, Trevor, you done with that mess on the highway?” Silva asked, her voice sweet as spun sugar.
“Sheriff chewed my butt for not taking care of her mess.” He jerked a thumb in Lelandi’s direction. “Said shootings take priority over mud slides. Hell, they needed someone to reroute traffic. Four accidents out there. Six injuries.”
“Silva stuck up for you when she didn’t need to. Lelandi glowered back at the deputy. Silva’s mouth dropped open. Seems you owe her thanks. No one else bothered to defend your actions.”
Trevor shoved his hands in his pockets and continued to glare at Lelandi. “Who was the man who shot you?”
She closed her eyes. Question the bastard! How would she know who he was?
“He shot you in the chest twice—”
“Three times.” she said, her breathing still ragged, “but who’s counting?”
“You’re one of us, well, kinda, and you can see as well as we can in the dark, so who was he?”
Silva tsked. “Can’t you question her later, when she’s not so bad off?”
Trevor’s face reddened. “That’s another thing.” he said, his voice elevating. “Who the hell shot him dead, and why didn’t anyone question him first?”
Silva cleared her throat. “Trevor, we’ve given the sheriff our statements. Someone shot him from a distance. We never saw who it was, and after he did the deed, he never came down to see if Sam was all right. Unless he did, but just blended with the men who came to Investigate the shots fired. The word Is Darien might be so mad at whoever the shooter was for not just wounding the gunman, the guy’s not telling.”
“Yeah, anyone would be afraid Darien would be pissed, especially the way he’s been acting lately.”
“Did anyone tell you that you’ll be guarding us at my place?” Silva asked, her tone sweet and innocent.
Trevor scowled at her. “Babysitting?”
“Never know. Trouble seems to follow her. You could be in the thick of it this time.”
Nurse Grey shook her head. “You can’t mean the young lady will be going to your town house, Silva. She needs to remain here.”
“I think Doc’s worried the hospital isn’t secure enough for her.”
“Jail cell will do the job.” Trevor shoved his hat back and crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“Ah. Trevor.” Silva furrowed her brow at him.
“Hell, I saw how she beat up Ritka.”
Lelandi smiled. The woman couldn’t have been more outraged when paramedics wheeled Lelandi into the hospital. Luckily, the doctor ordered two men to watch over her, making sure Ritka didn’t finish what the gunman had begun.
“Hell, look at the way she’s smiling about it. No remorse or anything. Criminal behavior if I ever saw it.”
“They started it,” Silva argued. “Three against one, and every one of them is bigger than her.”
“Ritka said this one started it to prove she’s after Darien, like her sister had been.”
“Ha! Darien did the chasing. Hell. Lelandi didn’t stand a chance.”
Trevor’s face grew crimson again. “I’ve got work to do, straightening out this mess. Then I guess I’ve got babysitting duty later.”
Lelandi swore he looked hopeful something bad would happen so he’d get in on the real action this time and be able to prove to his boss how important he was.
He stalked out.
“I’ve got to check on Tom, but if she needs anything, just holler,” Nurse Grey said, then left.
“Guess it’s just you and me, kid. Silva sat in the vinyl chair against the wall. “You look like you can barely stay awake. Why don’t you get some sleep?”
“My sister didn’t chase Darien?” Lelandi squeaked, hating that her voice was so out of control like the rest of her.
“Hardly. Darien doesn’t like women who chase him. He likes to do the pursuing.” Silva leaned back in the chair and rolled her sun-streaked chestnut hair between two fingers.
She really was a striking woman and Lelandi wondered why Darien didn’t seem attracted to her.
Silva smiled. “So if you’re interested in getting his attention, don’t go hunting him down.”
“Wouldn’t think of It.” Lelandi wanted to roll onto her stomach, the way she normally slept, but she couldn’t with the IV in place. Plus, she had a sneaking suspicion her wounds would give her fits if she tried.
“On the other hand, if you want him to leave you alone...”
Lelandi stopped struggling with her thin white cotton blanket and looked over at Silva.
“Act really interested in him.”
“Not happening.” This time Lelandi’s words came out loud and clear, to both her surprise and Silva’s amusement.
“Uh-huh, well your choice.”
“Listen.” Lelandi ‘s voice did the raspy, hoarse bit again. “I’m here for one thing only. Finding out who killed my sister and why, and terminating him. I’m not interested in some alpha gray pack leader who just buried his mate who happened to be my triplet. End of story.”
“Triplet? Ohmigod, don’t tell me there’s another one of you. The news will put Darien in an early grave for sure.”
“My brother, and if he were here, he’d search for our sister’s killer.”
“Oh, he must be a rogue, an alpha male, and must have left your pack. So, where is he now?”
Lelandi’s eyes misted and she shrugged, wishing to hell her brother or even her uncle, who was seven years older than them, would help her.
Silva chewed on her bottom lip. “What if the dead gunman killed your sister?”
“He didn’t.”
<
br /> “You sound so certain. How do you know?”
Darien walked into the room, making both Silva and Lelandi gasp. How long had he been listening in on their private conversation?
“How do you know he wasn’t the one who killed Lelandi, assuming she didn’t commit suicide?” he asked, his voice harsh and accusatory.
“She told me.”
Darien’s jaw tightened. “Don’t tell me. You had secret triplet communication.”
“If you mean she sent me a letter, yeah, she did.” Lelandi swore he looked sicker than she felt, which had to be pretty hard to do the way she was feeling.
“You okay, boss?” Silva asked.
An alpha male did not faint. But his face had turned paler than her sheets, and she figured he was on the verge.
He gripped the doorframe for a minute, then growled, “Where’s the letter?”
She wanted to fold her arms to prove she wasn’t afraid of his alpha wolf posturing, but she thought better of it when she remembered the IV. Instead, she closed her eyes and listened to the hammering of his heart against his ribs.
“Tell me, damn it! Where’s the letter?”
His voice grew closer, his breathing hard. She might have been afraid of him if it wasn’t for the medicine making her loopy. Opening her eyes, she tried glaring at him when he gripped her bed railing, glowering at her as If he wished to kill her himself, but she wasn’t sure she was sharing her meanest look with him the way her eyelids kept drooping. She hadn’t an ounce of energy to spare.
“She’s in a bad way, Darien. Let her rest and you can question her later.”
“Now, damn it. I want some answers now.”
As a wolf, she could imagine his teeth would be dangerous, but as a human, they were beautiful, straight, white, clenched, and...
She yawned and closed her eyes.
“Damn it. speak!”
A small laugh sounded. It wasn’t from her, but when she opened her eyes, both Silva and Darien were staring at her. She realized that it was from her, after all.
Chapter 7
