Chapter 3
As much as Jake knew he had to get back to Silver Town, he was beginning to think he didn’t need to return all that quickly. He was owed a vacation, and he couldn’t remember a time when he’d taken one. Work and pleasure were all wrapped up in Silver Town and the pack. That’s all that had ever mattered.
But now she mattered. Alicia Greiston, bounty hunter and bundle of sensuous woman, who was bound to get herself into real trouble. But the way she “played” her role with him made him think she also was interested in furthering their relationship. He knew he should back off, knew that unless it would be a one-night stand with a human female, he shouldn’t be encouraging this. Yet he had no desire to stop what was taking place. And he didn’t believe a one-night stand would offer a fix for what he was feeling.
He could drop off the photographs and take in some sights with Alicia, if she could give up her surveillance for the time being and was interested in spending the day with him. Who knew what could happen with regard to the night?
She was about to say something when she glanced back at Mario as he walked past the table, not giving any indication he knew she existed. The other man remained seated, eating his breakfast.
As soon as Jake felt Alicia tense, as if she were a wolf ready to go after her quarry, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against his body, even though he already had her blocked from leaving the booth.
He shook his head and leaned over, his mouth brushing her ear as he whispered, “Too many of them.”
Her expression shifted from hunting mode to resigned acquiescence. That was, until she spoke and he realized she wasn’t as resigned to admitting she couldn’t pursue the man as he had thought she was.
“You have to take your artwork to the gallery.” She glanced at her watch. “Must be open by now.” Her gaze met his in too businesslike a fashion. “We could meet at a little Italian place up the street for lunch later today. If you’re interested and you’re hungry by then.”
He was interested, but he was damned concerned that she intended to ditch him a second time, only in this instance, so she could keep Mario under further surveillance.
“Italian?” Jake asked. The insinuation was that the Italian guys might eat at the Italian restaurant, and she had inside information that they’d be stopping for lunch there. Which didn’t set well with Jake. If he was to have a meaningful lunch with the lady, he wanted all her attention.
She shrugged, but the renewed sparkle in her eyes and the slight upward tilt of her mouth meant she had caught his meaning. She lifted her chin just a little. “Or anything else you’re interested in.”
His smile was sure to appear purely predatory. She had to know he was interested in her.
“To eat,” she said, realizing he was thinking like a man would.
His smile broadened as his gaze remained on hers. A faint blush colored her cheeks and creamy throat.
She quickly added, “They have steak houses, sandwich shops, seafood places, you name it.”
“Will you go with me to the art gallery?”
“No. I’ve got some errands I need to run.” Her tone was clipped and businesslike again. She wasn’t going to be talked out of going it alone.
He didn’t like it. He thought she was serious about lunch, but after she’d ticked off these men, he believed she’d be headed into real danger. And he was certain she was going after them further.
“So what will it be?” she asked.
“Steak house, but—”
“Okay, steak house it is. Main Street at 1 p.m.” She rose to leave and straightened her skirt.
He wanted to change her mind, but she seemed determined. He stood to let her out of the booth and noticed that the suited man still seated at the table was watching them now. Jake took her hands, leaned over, and slanted his mouth over hers, meaning to show the man that Alicia was his, and if anyone thought of harming her, there’d be hell to pay. Before he could do much more than press the merest of kisses against her soft mouth, she pulled her hands free.
Prepared to accept her rejection, Jake was about to separate from her, figuring she objected to going any further with this—at least here in the restaurant. Until she placed her arms securely around his neck, her breasts pressed against his chest in a tormentingly seductive way, and with an upturned face, offered her mouth to him.
Eagerness propelled him to take advantage, but he reigned in his baser needs and licked her sugary cinnamon-sweetened lips with a sensuous sweep of his tongue. His hands roamed down her back until they rested at the bottom edge of her jacket on the sensuous curve of her buttocks.
He said quietly, “Open your mouth to me.”
The suggestion was like unlocking the bedroom door and letting him in. His tongue penetrated the small opening as she barely parted her lips to him, more in surprise than in agreement, he thought. But he breached any defenses she might have erected, one of his hands cupping the back of her head as he forged forward, the other keeping her body pressed against his hardness.
She responded like a woman caught up in lust, at first shyly kissing his tongue back, her body a little reserved. Then as if he’d overpowered her will to keep this at a standoff, he sensed her resolve falter. Felt her tongue play with his in a more aggressive manner, felt her body arch against him, pressing her sexy, soft body against his. He nearly groaned when she deepened the kiss.
Sweet cinnamon and spicy woman greeted him in a way he’d never experienced with any other. Her soft body fit against his hard one, which was getting harder by the second. He wrapped his arms around her back and held on tighter until he finally felt the gun at her waist.
She murmured against his lips, “I thought you said you didn’t have a gun.”
“I didn’t think you meant that one. Maybe we could have dinner later?” He was already hoping to spend the day and the night with her, keeping her safe while enjoying her companionship for a while longer.
She gave him a wistful smile back. For an instant, he thought he might be pushing her too fast. But this was the first time a woman had truly sparked his interest in eons, and he didn’t want to let her go just yet. Her wit and wolfish intuition fascinated him.
A long-term commitment with a human female was fraught with difficulties and something his kind would frown on, but a tryst with one was perfectly acceptable if both were willing and agreeable. She seemed as interested as he was. Although a nagging concern told him that she wasn’t someone he could get out of his system easily with an overnight venture.
“Your bill,” Tami the waitress said, her face screwed up in hate as she openly glared at Alicia. She turned to Jake and gave him a small smile as she handed him the bill.
Alicia slipped it out of her hand before Jake could take it. “My treat,” Alicia said to Jake, “for the rescue.”
He fished out two twenties and tossed them on the table. “You can get the dessert later.” He winked at Alicia and saw Tami’s scowl deepen more. With his hand guiding the small of Alicia’s back, he walked her outside. “What’s up with your former schoolmate?”
“She wanted Harold. My first husband. I didn’t know he’d been seeing her behind my back. He married me instead. If I’d known what they’d been up to, I would have given her my blessing and let her have him. But, unfortunately, I didn’t know about their affair until after we were married.”
“The guy must’ve been crazy.”
“No. I was, for not having my eyes wide open when I was dating him.”
Not believing a human guy could be such a jerk, Jake shook his head and walked her to her car. “He still must have been crazy. I take it he didn’t go back to her after you divorced.”
“Nope. He was seeing other women while we were married. He liked them new and different. Once he’d been with a woman for a few weeks, the spark was gone, and he was ready to discard her for someone else. Much like he was with his expensive toys. When his motorcycle was nearly a year old, he ditched it for a new one. When his computer was six months old, he needed something newer that was just on the market. Cell phones, you name it. He was always in debt up to his hairline.”
For an instant, Jake thought he saw sadness in her posture, as she sat with her shoulders slightly slumped and her eyes averted from the mountain vista. She quickly shrugged as if it didn’t matter and cast him a small smile. “I was lucky to be rid of him.”
But her words and her actions gave her away. None of what Harold had done mattered as much as the fact the jerk had lusted after other women when he had given his promise to Alicia to be her one and only.
Jake tried not to see anything more in his relationship with Alicia than serving as her protector until he could convince her to give up the nonsense of taking these men to jail. But he had the sneaking suspicion her past relationship with Harold colored her perception of all men—that they were rats and couldn’t be trusted—and she probably viewed Jake in the same way. It shouldn’t have mattered, but the wolf side of him wanted to exclaim that his kind did not make light of relationships. Although since she was human, he couldn’t admit how faithful his kind were when they made a commitment to their own.
Telling himself it was for the benefit of the Italian guy watching them to see how he and Alicia parted company, he gave her a see-you-soon kiss. He had hoped she would deepen the kiss, but she didn’t encourage anything more than a quick meeting of the lips, as if she was already putting the brakes on their relationship. That again made him think she was playing her part for the mobster, and Jake worried she might still be planning on ditching him. But then he reconsidered. She seemed honest about wanting to meet him again for lunch.
He opened her car door for her. “I’ll meet you at one then.”
“Umm-hmm.” She smiled, but her expression was strained.
If he’d acted on his wolf instincts, he wouldn’t have let her run off on her own, and as soon as he shut the door, he had the resounding feeling that letting her go had been a grave mistake.
She pulled out of the parking space and headed down the street, then stopped at a floral shop. After making sure she got inside the shop all right and that no one was following her, he returned to his truck to leave his artwork off at the gallery. But he was plagued by the niggling worry that he should follow her and make sure she stayed safe.
Figuring he could drop off his photography quickly and then tail Alicia until their luncheon engagement, he rushed into the gallery and startled a woman, her blue eyes wide, who was wearing a conservative suit and had her hair cut short in a professional bob.
“Ma’am, I’m Jake Silver, with the photographs I called about displaying in your gallery.” He spoke quickly and as if he was on edge.
He hoped his smile looked sincere and that he didn’t sound as rushed as he felt as he stalked inside with his box-load of framed artwork. He was ready to drop the photographs on a table and head out again. But by the way the woman’s mouth dropped open, he was sure she was wondering why they’d agreed to carry his photographs in the gallery in the first place.
He hurried to make his excuses as his thoughts remained on the florist shop and his next destination—tailing Alicia Greiston to keep her safe.
***
Totally rattled by Jake Silver, the most dangerously disarming hunk she’d ever caught the attention of, Alicia had missed her chance to follow Mario. She knew that had been Jake’s intent, although she realized he had been right in warning her to use caution. But she didn’t want Mario to get away with murder, and she was determined to make him pay. It had nothing to do with the bond money either, although with a million-dollar bond on Mario’s head, ten percent wasn’t a bad day’s wages. Even though she’d been tracking him for months to be ready in the event that he skipped his court date.
The opportunity lost for the moment, she’d have to pick up his trail later. After buying a wreath of pink, peach, cream, and lavender blossoms at the floral shop down the street, she drove to the hiking trail where her mother had been murdered, intending to pay her respects like she did once a week, no matter what else was going on with her life.
Although the conversation she was going to have with her mother today wasn’t her usual kind.
She still felt angry that her mother had to die in the prime of her life and that she hadn’t heeded Alicia’s warnings. Alicia was driven with the need to avenge her mother’s death and saddened by missing her so. But this time a man she didn’t even know had made her feel something different. More alive than she’d felt in years. Distracted from her mission.
Neither of her former husbands had made her feel the way Jake had with his heroics and sizzling kisses. Never had her body melted into a pool of ecstasy from the simple touch of a man’s fingers at her back as he guided her outside or from the way he looked as though he wanted to eat her for dessert—her treat—after he’d so gallantly paid for her breakfast.
He was dangerous, all right. And armed!
She’d joked about it, but she’d really been flattered she could arouse him that much just by kissing him back. Of course, she told herself that she was only doing what she had to do to prove to Mario’s breakfast companion that she truly did know Jake intimately and had backup if she needed it. But the way Jake had reacted showed he was playing the game for keeps—at least for an overnight tryst, she assumed. Even though she suspected he was not the kind of person who frittered away hours doing inconsequential things. Neither was she. Her mother had always said she was way too serious. But for Alicia, it had been a case of survival.
Still, after her two husbands and a number of no-account boyfriends, for the first time ever, Alicia was really feeling something for a man—just because of the kind and interested way Jake had treated her.
Alicia parked at the trailhead, changed out of her heels, and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes. Then, with the fragrant wreath in hand, she hiked along Spruce Creek Trail to where her mother had died, the summer breeze twisting tendrils of hair around Alicia’s cheek and the sweet scent of pine drifting to her.
As she often did on the hike, Alicia thought about her mother, Missy Greiston, taking this very path as she started the trek to the Upper and Lower Mohawk Lakes to meet her lover at Continental Falls. Alicia had been there before and loved seeing the crystal water cascade in a foaming rush diagonally down a wildflower-blanketed hillside with alpine woods all around and abandoned mining cabins scattered over the area. But her mother had never made it that day. The macabre truth was that Tony Thomas, her mother’s lover, had been left for dead long before Missy would have reached his location.
Alicia thought about the times she and her mother had gone skiing on the mountain together—intermediate blue trails, not black-diamond expert runs for them, unless they skied onto them by accident. And they had done that a few times. They had laughed as they tried to make their way down the steep trails, taking one difficult mogul at a time. Stopping, skiing to the next one, and hoping they’d make it to the bottom without breaking their necks. Vowing never again to get on another expert slope. Until they made the same mistake later on a different black-diamond expert slope.
Alicia swallowed hard, hating that she still missed her mother so much and wishing that her mother had listened to her, believed her when Alicia had told her she thought the man her mother had been dating might be a mobster and dangerous to associate with.
She soon stood in the thick forested area where hikers had found Missy’s body and notified police. Despite it having been months earlier, Alicia still felt as though the murder had taken place only yesterday. She took a deep breath, having to make a confession to her mother. One she really didn’t want to make.
“Momma,” she said in a hush, crouching to place the flowers beneath a tree, “I’ve tracked down the family that killed you. Mario Constantino was the one who ordered the hit. Danny Massaro was the man who pulled the trigger. The judge set them free while awaiting trial, so they can eat in fancy restaurants, drink their fancy drinks, and have their fancy women.”
More strands of hair pulled loose from Alicia’s bun, flipping across her eyes. She snagged them and then slipped them behind her ear.
“But the one, Danny Massaro? He’s already skipped his trial, so as soon as I can manage, I’m turning him in to the police. Once Mario misses his trial date, I’ll re-arrest him, too. I swore to you…” Alicia swallowed hard. “I swore to you I’d make them pay.”
A tear and then another slid down her cheek, and she hastily brushed them away. “I’ve been…” She wiped away a couple of more tears. “I’ve been missing you something awful. Everything reminds me of you—the little tea shop on Main Street that we used to eat at, even that Victorian restaurant, Victoriana, across the street from the art gallery.” Her throat felt clogged with tears.
“I… I followed Mario into that restaurant this morning. Our restaurant. The bastard,” she said softly. “But I met someone else there today. And… well, it made me think of something other than revenge for a change.”
That made her feel guilty. How could she think about a man as beguiling as Jake Silver and how nice it would be to date someone like him, when she had a promise to fulfill?
She didn’t say anything for a while as she looked up at the wisp of clouds dotting the blue sky. She thought about how this was just like the kind of day she used to enjoy on nature walks with her mother and how her meeting with Jake would have been a godsend, if not for what Mario and Danny had done to her mother.
“I’m not sure you’d approve of him.” Alicia gave a sad little laugh. “You never really liked any of the guys I dated, and no wonder. They were all losers. But Jake, well, he seems different somehow. Dangerous in a good way.” She stood and took a shaky breath. “You know what a mess I’ve always made of my life when it comes to guys.” Just like her mother’s relationships with men.
“I don’t know what I’m trying to say. Only that Jake made me realize I wasn’t totally dead like I thought I was. But it scares me. Not only because my past relationships were such disasters, but also what if I fall for someone like Jake, and Mario or his thugs kill him, too?”
She knew they wouldn’t hesitate to make her hurt even more than she did now. She folded her arms around herself and rubbed them, suddenly feeling a chill. She’d already lost her mother to these men. She didn’t want them killing anyone else she felt something for.
As much as she wanted to have lunch with Jake later and see him further, she couldn’t. For now, men and relationships were out of the question. Deep down, she knew that. Knew she couldn’t keep their “date.” That was why she’d had to slip away from him back in town. To get away from his enticing presence so she could think clearly again.
Car doors slammed near where she’d parked, and her whole body tensed with worry. Turning to look, she watched the path for some time until a dark-haired man and a blond woman—hand in hand, and both wearing shorts and T-shirts—appeared, strolling along the hiking trail with their backpacks bulging. Alicia took a relieved breath.
They looked at her with odd expressions. The suit jacket and skirt and sneakers probably puzzled them until they saw the memorial wreath propped up by the tree and murmured greetings as they walked by her.
Unless they were out-of-towners, they’d probably heard about her mother’s murder. Many people knew about the flowers she set out each week on the spot where her mother had been murdered. Someone always took away the spent flowers before she returned. At least, that’s what she told herself. If someone was stealing her mother’s flowers after Alicia left, she hoped they put them to good use.
The hiking couple had long since disappeared along the path and through the woods. Alicia was about to say her good-byes to her mother so she could go back to town and try to catch up with Mario again, when two more car doors slammed shut in the parking area. Hikers, more than likely. Still, she watched the path with apprehension, waiting for their appearance, unbuttoning her jacket in case she had to get to her gun, and hoping some of Mario’s henchmen weren’t coming to pay their last respects.
***
Mary Clebourne identified herself as the gallery owner. She’d frowned at Jake’s brusque greeting and jumped when he set the box of photographs on the desk a little too firmly.
He quickly said, “Price them however you see fit. I’d planned to meet with you earlier this morning when you were supposed to be open, but I’ve got another commitment right now.”
She seemed to gather her wits and frowned even deeper. “We need you to sign some paperwork and—”
“I’ll return later today,” Jake said, heading for the door. It wasn’t like him to let his imagination get away from him, but after the thug had threatened Alicia in the restaurant, Jake couldn’t quit worrying about her.
“But…” the woman said.
Jake let the door swing shut on his departure as he rushed to his truck. He glanced up the street at the floral shop and noted that Alicia’s car was no longer parked there. Hell.
With his truck in gear, he tore off down the street and jammed on his brakes in a parking spot at the floral shop. Barely shutting his vehicle’s door, he stalked into the fragrant, refrigerated store where bouquets of flowers and pots of plants resting on terra-cotta tiles decorated four-tier circular shelves.
Dressed in a blouse and skirt covered in red roses, a gray-haired woman smiled in greeting, dimples appearing on her full cheeks. “May I help you, sir?”
“A woman came in here wearing a black suit, her hair dark brown, and… her name is Alicia Greiston. I need to track her down.” He sounded as desperate as he felt.
The smile instantly fell from the florist’s face, and a grave sadness marred her appearance. But she hesitated to say where she might think Alicia had gone.
“We met at the restaurant down the street for breakfast. Some guy was trying to strong-arm her out of the restaurant. I stopped him. Alicia and I are to meet later for lunch, but after I dropped off my photographs at the art gallery, I worried that the thug who had been bothering her might have followed her.”
“A man? Oh.” Her brows knit together in a deep frown. “You were at Cliffside Art Gallery?”
“Yes. You can ask Mary Clebourne. I dropped off some photographs of wildflowers just now.”
The woman still hesitated, but her frown lessened some. He figured she was probably thinking that any man who photographed wildflowers couldn’t be all bad.
“I need to make sure she’s all right,” he added.
The woman chewed on her upper lip and then said, “She bought flowers for her mother, Missy Greiston. The murder shocked everyone here in Breckenridge several months back.”
“Murder?” He frowned, the bits and pieces he knew about Alicia and her mother swirling around in his thoughts. Why hadn’t Alicia mentioned that her mother had been murdered locally? He supposed it wasn’t the thing to talk about when just meeting someone. On the other hand, he suspected she hadn’t wanted him to know.
“Oh my, yes. It was dreadfully awful. Mrs. Greiston had bought plants from me from time to time, whenever she and her daughter, Alicia, came to Breckenridge. They both really loved flowers.” The woman cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. “No one has pinned the crime on anyone yet.”
Jake remembered what the waitress, Tami, had said. Alicia’s mother had been dating a mobster. Like mother, like daughter. But had Alicia been dating a mobster? Or was that just a way for Tami to convince Jake not to get involved with Alicia?
“Alicia’s at a cemetery?” he asked in a hurry.
“No. Alicia goes to the place where Missy Greiston died. It’s the trailhead at Spruce Creek Trail, two miles south of town. And it has a well-marked parking area.” She sketched him a map. “It’s not far from here. And she just left. If you hurry, you should be able to catch her still there. Don’t tell her, but… I always remove the spent flowers before she returns at the end of the week. I don’t want her to see how sad the wilted wreaths look upon her return.”
Jake nodded, said a quick “Thanks” and grabbed the map. He hurried out of the shop, the whole while wondering if Missy Greiston’s murder had to do with Alicia following a bunch of mobsters. Hell, the woman had to have a death wish.
Maybe that wasn’t so far from the truth.
Driving way over the speed limit and glad there weren’t any cops or much traffic to delay him, Jake soon reached the site on the map. His thudding heart nearly quit when he saw not only Alicia’s red car and a couple of others, but one of the black Mercedes he was sure he’d seen parked at the restaurant. It was now sitting beside her car, too. And the occupant or occupants were already on the move.
Jake dashed out of his truck and sprinted up the heavily forested trail, hoping to hell he wasn’t too late. Gunfire sounded, and another surge of adrenaline rushed through his veins. He had to shift. He didn’t have any weapons on him, and he had no other way to protect Alicia against gun-wielding tyrants, if she was being targeted, except as a wolf. After dodging off the trail, he quickly jerked off his clothes and willed himself to shift.
With anger and frustration overwhelming him, he felt the heat already pouring into his veins grow even hotter with the shift as his body changed from a human form to his wolf body, complete with fur coat, raised hackles, and wickedly menacing teeth. He tore off after the men with a red rage filling his heart, ready to kill and praying that Alicia was still alive.
As he bounded forth, he saw one man ahead on the hiking trail, clasping his leg, writhing on the ground, and cursing a blue streak. Gun in hand, another man was trying to lift his companion. To Jake’s astonishment, he noticed as a whiff of gun smoke drifted to him that Alicia’s gun was aimed at the crouching man. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes narrowed in contempt at the two men.
Jake stopped, momentarily stunned that she’d defended herself and come out on top, although the gunman could still shoot her. Jake growled low and deep, the urge to kill racing through his blood.
All three of them turned to look at him, the groaning man bleeding, eyes wide with fear, and the other gunman’s eyes just as huge. The standing man was the one who had threatened Alicia in the restaurant, and his words came back to Jake: “Just so’s you know, next time, you won’t get off so easy.”
At least his partner didn’t look like he was going to get off so easy.
Alicia’s mouth had dropped open several degrees when she saw Jake in his wolf form, and her dark chocolate eyes were now nearly black.
If she’d been in mortal danger, Jake wouldn’t have hesitated to end the thugs’ miserable lives. But if he did kill them, a hunt would ensue for a gray wolf who was a man-killer, and any gray wolf would be a prime suspect. Despite his noble intentions, he was sure Alicia would think he was an evil wolf from childhood tales.
The thug fired at Jake, but he had anticipated the move and dodged back into the woods. “Kill her,” the injured man said through gritted teeth.
“Aim your gun in my direction, and I’ll have to shoot you in a location that’s a lot more fatal,” Alicia warned the man threatening her with his weapon, her voice terse, her hands steady on the gun.
Jake watched from the cover of the woods, ready to come to her rescue if she needed him, when the sound of a group of men talking and laughing and heading in Alicia’s and the armed men’s direction caught everyone’s attention.
“Get up,” the uninjured man said to the other. “Hurry, we gotta get out of here.”
“Kill her,” the injured man insisted.
“Another day,” the other promised. He holstered his gun and then helped the wounded man to his feet as he cursed and groaned. Then they headed back the way they had come, the injured one walking with a pronounced limp as blood soaked his trouser leg.
Before the four men walking in Alicia’s direction were in sight, Alicia had tucked her gun away, but she glanced warily toward the woods where Jake had taken off. He stayed hidden in the pines and continued to observe her until the hikers reached her.
When the four men saw her, they greeted her, looking her over and probably trying to figure out why two men and a woman were wearing business suits there, and one of the men appeared injured. The hikers glanced at the memorial wreath she’d laid at the foot of a tree, expressed condolences, and continued on their way, a couple of them looking over their shoulders in her direction. Her focus remained on the path in the direction of the parking area.
“She’s the one whose mother was murdered in the woods,” the one said to the others in a low voice, but with his enhanced hearing, Jake heard.
“What about those two guys?” another asked.
“I told you I heard gunfire,” the first said.
“Think she shot the guy?”
“It was hard to say, but the way he was limping and the other guy was trying to help him along the path, I’d say it was a good bet.”
“Good for her.”
Their conversation trailed off as they hiked on the path deeper into the woods.
Jake didn’t like that she was trying to put Mario Constantino and Danny Massaro behind bars on her own, that they’d gotten away with murder, and that she appeared to be all alone in the world. But getting into human affairs was one of the things his kind didn’t do. That didn’t stop him from wanting to do something, though, where she was concerned.
Satisfied she’d be all right until he could return to her, he raced through the woods to where he’d left his clothes, then shape-shifted and dressed. When he was again on the hikers’ trail, he stalked back with a hurried stride to Alicia’s location to intercept her.
She was beautiful and sexy with the breeze tugging at her bun and more tendrils of her dark hair caressing her cheeks. Her jacket had been left open, and her silk blouse was now visible. She looked sensuously undone.
“Jake,” Alicia said breathlessly as soon as she saw him. She was still standing in the same spot near the wreath of flowers, looking tense and anxious, and he assumed she was waiting until she presumed the thugs had left in their car. But as soon as she caught sight of Jake, she moved toward him, appearing glad to see him and a little shaken.
He quickened his pace, trying to keep his expression neutral. But he was angry—furious with the bastards who had threatened her and none too happy with Alicia for dismissing him when he knew something like this could happen. Not to mention annoyed with himself for not forcing the issue and staying with her.
His eyes trailed down her body, but she didn’t appear to have been hurt. He took her hands and drew her into his arms. She trembled, and tears appeared in her eyes before she melted against him.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice a lot rougher than he’d intended as one arm curled around her waist and his free hand rubbed her back reassuringly.
She nodded, looked back at the wreath as if she was saying her good-byes to her mother, and then said with a shaky voice, “I’ve… I’ve never shot a man before.”
“He’ll live,” Jake said with sincere regret.
She walked with him in the direction of the parking lot. “How did you know where to find me?”
“I watched you enter the florist shop before I dropped my work off at the art gallery. I was worried that the man who hassled you at the restaurant might try again.” He took her hand and interlocked his fingers with hers. Her fingers tightened over his in a welcoming manner. “Do you live in Breckenridge?”
He didn’t like the idea that she might be in danger if she lived in the area and these thugs had easy access to her.
“No. I’m staying at a hotel for a few days. Just doing a job.”
He stopped and looked down at her, his brow deeply furrowed. “You aren’t just doing a job.”
Her chin lifted a little in defiance, her dark brown eyes narrowing. No argument there, which meant he was correct in his assumption. He had to remind himself she wasn’t a wolf. That she didn’t have a pack. That it shouldn’t matter what a human female had in mind to do.
But family took care of family. The thought kept nagging at him—where was her family? A father? Siblings? Anyone else? Why was she after these men all on her own? Why wasn’t anyone keeping tabs on her?
He assumed the judge had set a bail bond low enough that the men had been able to post bail. If they had skipped their court dates, as she assumed, she would be in danger while she trailed them.
“Admit it. Mario and the other man you mentioned, Danny Massaro, murdered your mother. It’s a vendetta,” he said quietly, but the undercurrent of warning was there. What she was doing was wrong, and it could get her killed.
“Not a vendetta,” she said icily. “I don’t plan to gun them down like they did my mother. Just return them to jail where they belong. Permanently.”
She tried to pull her hand free from his, but he wouldn’t let go. With his free hand, he swept the back of his hand down her cheek with a tender caress. “All right, not a vendetta then.” But he still couldn’t see how she planned to safely take these men into custody.
He wasn’t sure just what about her made his pulse race to such an extent, the way the heat of her hand penetrated his, the way he couldn’t put her out of his mind, stirring a need to be with her and to protect her that he was having a hard time quelling. The expression on her face, though rebellious, appealed to him. Hell, everything about her did.
Her short-waisted suit jacket hung open as if she’d been ready to remove it to dress in a more casual manner. But he knew that had to do with her having easy access to her gun, although the holstered weapon was still hidden. His gaze drifted down to where the ice-white silken blouse revealed the faint outline of her bra and a hint of lace, baring the sexier side of her outfit. Round pearl-button fasteners on her blouse captured his attention, and briefly, he wanted to touch them, to poke one after another through the slivers of their buttonholes, to see the rest of her as nature had intended.
She cleared her throat, and he returned his gaze to her face. A small smile tugged at her lips, and her brows lifted in a way that said she knew exactly where his thoughts had roamed.
Although he wanted this issue between them resolved—wanted her to promise him she wasn’t going any further with this futile effort to take down these men, when her hand rested on his shirt-covered chest, the vest now open and most of his shirt still unbuttoned because of hastily dressing, he thought she was going to push him away. Or at least try.
But her hand swept up his chest as if tentatively feeling the muscles beneath the shirt, memorizing the sensation of him, and judging his reaction, while her eyes focused on his chest as she continued to explore. Her touch left a trail of sizzling heat through the cotton shirt and a craving to touch her in the same way, except that he wanted to touch her skin to skin.
He lifted her chin and leaned down and kissed her. Potent need filled him as his mouth conquered hers, possessing and wanting, the worry that she could have come to harm still making his blood pulse hot and hard. His hands slid underneath the back of her jacket, gliding over the silky blouse while her head still tilted up to encourage his onslaught. Instantly responsive, she reacted as though she needed his comfort, his possessiveness, him, as she molded to his body, pressing harder against him, her hands exploring his back through the dress shirt with eagerness.
If they’d been back home in his own woods, away from civilization, free to do what they pleased, he would have liked to take her, conquer her, make love to her. It wasn’t just sex that he was interested in having with Alicia either, but something deeper. Although he knew he couldn’t go there with her, not when she was human, and he had no intention of turning her.
With his thoughts shifting to his more primal needs, he barely registered that they were still standing on the path where hikers could come upon them at any moment. He wasn’t familiar with these woods or how frequently visitors to the area might slip off the path and do some exploring on their own. Still, he wanted more, wanted her. And his baser, more primitive instinct told him she was just as willing as he was. To go with the moment, to find pleasure where they could.
But was Alicia truly as willing?