by Terry Spear
“Nay, it wasn’t.” Heather looked sharply at him, surprising him at her vehemence in contradicting him. “Grant has you taking on way too many jobs as it is. You can’t fight battles in the film and then expect to be in charge of the security for the grounds and the castle, for heaven’s sake.”
He appreciated that she was sticking up for him, but he often had an unfathomable number of bonnets to wear while taking care of business at the castle. No way would he have told Grant he couldn’t handle all his jobs. “Aye, but it falls on me to—”
She shook her head and waved her half-eaten bun at him. “You are not infallible, and anyone who had half the jobs you are supposed to do would have missed the woman sneaking into the castle too.”
He smiled, loving her tenacity as she stuck up for him. But he really didn’t believe he was faultless. “But I have many—”
“Too many tasks. Do you want me to talk to Grant about it?” Heather arched her brows and looked like she fully intended to, whether Enrick agreed with her or not.
He had the greatest urge to pull her from her seat and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. If she did talk to Grant about it, which Enrick didn’t want her to, he could imagine his brother being totally amused.
A number of people chuckled under their breaths.
Enrick did not have too many tasks. Grant did. He oversaw the whole of the castle and everything else pertaining to their wolf pack, with Colleen’s help, of course. And Enrick did assign jobs to others, so it wasn’t like he was solely responsible for every little detail and was so anal that he couldn’t delegate. He was still responsible for his tasks, whether they were accomplished or not. Just like what had happened concerning the woman slipping through their defenses.
Heather’s brothers were smiling at Enrick. They knew what he’d gotten into when he’d begun to truly court her. He could handle it.
Enrick cleared his throat. “I’ve made sure we have guards posted at all the doors to the keep ’round the clock. We do shut the gates to the castle and grounds, but if someone were to sneak in and hide during the day because of all the people there—between ours, the MacNeills, and the film crew—I wanted to make sure he or she didn’t get any farther than the front door of the keep.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Ian agreed.
“I heard they kept the scene like it was and you actually were the hero when you came to take the saboteur into custody,” Julia said. “How did seeing Heather holding on to the woman with her sgian dubh in hand make you feel?”
Enrick swore Julia was taking mental notes to include all this in a future book. “I was angry, quite frankly. Heather shouldn’t have had to do that, but I was proud of her for reacting so quickly and decisively. I was glad she wasn’t hurt, and she managed to avoid injuring the woman—mainly because the film crew was shooting the scene. At that point, we didn’t know if the woman had poisoned the soup to cause sickness or something as serious as death.”
Heather smiled up at him. “You were perfectly growly. Even the director said Enrick had that feral look about him and wanted to keep the ‘scene.’ The wizard attempted to look just as angry, but he came in a distant second.”
“Enrick’s shared that look once or twice with me,” Lachlan said, making light of it.
Enrick chuckled. “Aye, Brother, you know not to take my sword when I’m off to battle.”
Lachlan’s eyes sparkled with merriment. “I couldn’t find mine.”
The rest of the dinner centered around what was coming next for the movie. When Heather said, “The director wants the wolves to bite two of the villains’ stunt men,” there was an audible gasp among those dining there tonight.
Enrick sighed. “Aye. We’ve made preparations to have the stunt men wear a piece of armor, not the lightweight stuff they use today for movies but the really heavy-duty armor, just over the arm the wolves will bite.”
Everyone looked at Lachlan to see his take on it since he was handling the wolves. “We’ve been practicing every day, making sure the wolves look like they’re really getting into tearing the villain to pieces without injuring anyone. So far during the practice they had today, they haven’t bitten through the armor, so it should be fine.”
They hoped. Anything could go wrong and it could be a disaster.
As soon as the meal was done, Enrick was eager to play with Heather in the woods as a wolf, and this time? He was going to catch her if she played chase.
* * *
Heather was eager to play with Enrick and hoped he wouldn’t be afraid to have some fun. They had barely begun the run when he nipped her ear, gently, in a teasing way. She tackled him. Or at least tried. He was a big, muscular wolf, and when she wrapped her forelegs around his thick, furred neck and nipped at his muzzle, he smiled. Okay, so she wasn’t going to pin him to the forest floor like he’d taken her down to the grassy riverbank so effortlessly.
He wasn’t giving in, either, which she was glad for. She didn’t want a wimpy male wolf to play with who would tuck tail and fold just to find favor with her. But she had to admit she was a little frustrated he was looking so smug and immovable.
He licked her face and then bit at her neck in a gentle play bite, and she rigorously bit his neck back. He woofed at her in amusement and then retaliated and pinned her to the ground. She loved it and woofed in pure pleasure. His chest against hers, he licked her face and nibbled on her ear. She licked his face back and she loved this. She couldn’t budge him, though, and when she quit trying, he began to move off her and she leapt out of his path and whipped around and nipped at his tail. He woofed at her, enjoying the wolf play as much as she was.
This was what she’d hoped for the first time she’d tried to play with him. She was vaguely aware other wolves were nearby but keeping lookout in the event the McKinleys or Kilpatricks were in the area.
Then she raced off and Enrick was in hot pursuit. Yes! He was going to chase her and…then he was pinning her to the ground again.
Okay, so she might need a little head start. She hadn’t expected him to catch up to her that quickly with his longer legs and faster stride. She laughed at him in her wolf way and his eyes were filled with amusement, maybe lust, and that was when she smelled how turned on he was.
Hmm, so was she. She licked his muzzle. And he nuzzled her muzzle with his own. Then he moved to let her up and she rubbed against his hot, huggable body, showing him he had done just the right thing. She loved a challenge! She didn’t want him to make it easy on her. And she did want him to play with her.
They walked for a while, bumping into each other in playful camaraderie, their heads swinging around to make the connection, licking each other’s cheeks, and moving on again, exploring, smelling the scents of rabbits and deer that had passed this way before.
Then she dashed off, hoping he didn’t tackle her this time as he took off running, speeding up, catching up to her, but this time running beside her. Yeah, perfect. He seemed to be learning her cues on what she wanted him to do with her as a wolf. She loved it.
Then she saw two Scottish wildcats, their larger skulls and longer limbs differing from domestic house cats. She and Enrick came to an abrupt halt, not wanting to scare the wildcats off. Their fur was covered in stripes with a tabby pattern. Bushy, ringed tails, black at the tips, whipped back and forth. That was all she saw before the wildcats disappeared into the undergrowth.
Seeing them had made her run with Enrick even more special. The wildcats were on the endangered list now, and she rarely saw them on a run in the woods surrounding Argent Castle. They would have refuge on the MacNeill lands, but she was sure they were afraid of the big bad wolves. She wondered if Enrick had seen them around his castle.
Then she heard a couple of wolves bark, both in scolding.
Now what?
Something crashed through the brush wearing part of a fern frond. Chipper, one of the MacNeills’
wolfhounds, greeted her as if he’d been let out to play. She knew he hadn’t. She woofed at him to go with her. He usually minded her. He needed to be in the kennel with the rest of his mates for the night.
Chipper play-bowed to her, wanting her to play. She nipped at him like a mother dog would, telling him playtime was over.
Then a couple of teen boys in the distance called out, “Chipper! Chipper, come here!”
She howled to let them know Chipper was with her. She loved the wolfhounds and often played with the puppies after dinner before they went to sleep.
She and Enrick corralled the dog back to Argent Castle. She knew he wouldn’t run off now, not when all the wolves on the run with them began to return too. Chipper felt like he was just one of the pack.
“Coming!” one of the teens shouted. That would be Matthew. He was supposed to be putting the dogs up for the night. She hoped Chipper was the only one that had gotten away from him. Lewis, Matthew’s friend, would be the other with him. They’d both been prone to getting into trouble until Ian had put them in charge of the wolfhounds. With some responsibility, they were turning out to be fine young men.
But Chipper could be sneaky, so she knew to keep an eye on him when the kennel was locked for the night.
Suddenly, Matthew was in front of them, panting, trying to catch his breath. “He made a mad dash for it when Lewis arrived at the kennel.”
Lewis looked just as flushed, trying to get his wind.
She woofed at them, telling them it wasn’t a problem. All was well.
Matthew secured a leash to Chipper’s collar. “Sorry for interrupting your wolf run. We wanted to go, too, but we had to put up the dogs first. Then we ended up running anyway, but not as wolves.”
She smiled at him. Life had a way of working out like that. At least she’d seen the wildcats and had enjoyed playing with Enrick. When they finally reached the castle, Ian was waiting for them. He gave Matthew and Lewis a stern look.
It was mostly for show, but they took it for real.
“Sorry,” both of them said, waiting for him to release them.
“Put ’em up. Just let that be a lesson to you not to be in such a hurry.” Ian raised his brows at the boys.
“Aye,” they both said, and hurried off to put Chipper with the rest of his packmates.
Ian smiled at Heather and Enrick as the other wolves went inside to shift and change. “Hope the boys didn’t cut into your run too much.”
She shook her head. They had to return to the MacQuarries’ castle and get some sleep.
Then she and Enrick ran inside the keep, and she went to her room and he went to the area where the other wolves were getting dressed.
She shouldn’t even be considering it, but she’d love to join Enrick in his room tonight.
Chapter 12
Enrick figured he’d done everything right as far as running and playing as a wolf with Heather. He wasn’t used to tackling a she-wolf like that. He had never played with one in courtship. Well, actually, at any time really. He always played with the bigger, rougher males.
He felt he was too big, and he didn’t want her to feel overwhelmed. He certainly didn’t want to accidentally injure her. But she seemed to love his maneuvers anyway.
He was grateful for that. He was also glad they’d seen the wildcats. He could tell that had made her night.
It didn’t take long for her to come down the stairs to join him, and then everyone who was going back to his castle got in their vehicles and took off.
“I did it right this time, correct?” Even though Enrick was fairly certain he had, he still wanted to make sure as he drove her back to Farraige Castle.
She laughed. “I never thought you would tackle me so fast the second time. The first time, aye.”
He smiled. He’d been amused she thought she could outdistance him for long. “Seriously, though, you were all right with it, weren’t you?”
She smiled, her eyes alight with joy. “You bet. I’ve played with male wolves before who were so eager to please and so beta-like. I didn’t want that. I wanted to really play with you the way you play with your brothers and mine and my cousins. I just wanted to be one of the guys.”
He laughed. “I am so glad you are not just one of the guys. That wouldn’t be fun at all.”
“Okay, well, yeah, not in that way. I just didn’t want you to treat me like a wilting flower.”
“I was afraid I’d overdone it the second time I pinned you down.”
“If I’d thought so, I would have bitten you to tell you to back off. You would have known.” She patted him on the thigh.
He chuckled. “Okay, I guess you would have.” So that made him feel better. He wanted her to let him know if something between them wasn’t working for her.
He didn’t know how to approach her about having dated other women before and not asking her to date him, too, though he suspected she might know already, as gossipy as pack members were. Yet Oran’s words kept coming back to haunt him. Tell her, before they got too much farther in their relationship.
Maybe if he mentioned his shortcomings, it would help. “I’ve always been…focused on work and…” Hell, that was feeding right into what Oran said she already believed about him. “I can be really conventional. Boring even.”
She nodded.
He hadn’t expected her to agree. He smiled. “Staid, I guess you might say.”
She glanced at him, waiting for him to get to the point.
How in the world was he supposed to mention that he had dated other women but never asked her out on a date, when he would have loved to, without telling her Oran had told him to speak to her about it? Not that he meant to protect her brother, but Enrick didn’t want her to think they’d been talking about her behind her back.
“I’ve dated women who are like me.”
She nodded. “Boring.”
He chuckled. “Uh, yeah.” So far she didn’t seem to think anything ill of him for it.
“I know all about them. One date and you wouldn’t date for a long time after that.”
He frowned at her. How had she known about it? She and he lived at different castles. And he’d never seen her at his when he had dated other women. Her brothers had been sure she didn’t know anything about it.
“Right.” Those women didn’t suit him either.
“They weren’t right for you. Lachlan told me.”
Lachlan. Hell.
“You didn’t ask me out because I was too fun-loving.”
Enrick smiled. That was one way of putting it.
She sighed. “If you had, you would have had the time of your life. We both would have.”
“I think you might be right.”
“I am. I thought of chasing after you, but I was afraid that would just scare you more.” She smiled at him.
He laughed. “I don’t scare easily.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Anyway, I was surprised to see you in the shop to chase away the Kilpatricks. I thought maybe you had changed your mind about me. Lana told me you were concerned how I was feeling.”
“Aye.” Despite not believing they were suited, he realized he’d begun to think differently about her. He was seeing her in a whole new light. Maybe if he’d given them a chance earlier, he would have seen her that way back then. Maybe they both just needed to change before that could happen.
“If you want to know the truth, I’m not as reckless as you probably think I am.” Heather folded her arms.
He smiled at her.
She frowned at him. “I’m not. I only act that way when you’re around so I can get your attention.”
“I’m not really all that dull all the time.”
“Oh, nay, you’re about the most fascinating man I know. The women you dated wouldn’t have seen that in you.” She smiled.
<
br /> “Fascinating.”
“Aye. Truth be told, if we have snowball fights in the future, I want to be on your team.”
“I want that too. You’re deadly in a snowball fight.”
She laughed. “Sorry. I really hadn’t meant to hurt you.”
“I wanted to see you after that and let you know I’d been amused, not angry with you over it. Then time passed, and I figured you wouldn’t even remember about it, so no sense in bringing it up.”
“You wanted to see me?”
“Aye, but you made yourself scarce.”
They finally arrived at Farraige Castle and headed for the stairs to their chambers. He was going to escort her to her room this time, but instead, she took hold of his hand and led him to his.
Her impulsiveness was rubbing off on him and he let her into his room, not sure what she had in mind.
“I’m staying the night. Don’t bother to try and talk me out of it.” She began to remove her hair clip and he laughed.
“I won’t.” He removed his T-shirt and laid it on a chair. “What will Lana think? She’ll be worried when you don’t return to your chamber and will tell Grant to call out the guard.”
“I told her I was staying with you if all worked out tonight at dinner at my castle, so don’t worry about me.” Heather sighed and pulled out her phone and began texting. “I’m sending her a text to tell her that’s what I’m doing for sure. I can see her worrying and knocking on your door just to make sure I am here.”
Enrick was glad Heather was texting. He could just imagine the uproar Lana would cause if Heather didn’t.
She glanced at his dresser and saw her hair ribbon lying there, nice and pristine. She smiled.
Yeah, he hadn’t given it back. He would have if she asked for it, but he’d kept it on his dresser as a keepsake of his time on the battlefield with her favor in his sporran.
Then he slid her cardigan off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. He put his hands on her shoulders and caressed. Her warm hands were on his waist and the heat of her fingers seared him all the way through. He couldn’t believe it had finally come to this. Not a mating, but maybe in the future…
