To Tempt the Wolf

Chapter 10

HUNTER FOUND ASHTON'S CLOTHES DITCHED ABOUT a mile north of Tessa's house and swore under his breath. He removed his clothes, shuddered in the frigid air, ripped off his bandages, and changed into the wolf. But it wasn't painless this time. Sharp streaks stabbed through his injured shoulder, hurting more than he thought it would. All he wanted was to return to Tessa, nap, snuggle, and a hell of a lot more if she was receptive. He would kill Ashton.

For three miles he trotted after him, stopping to sniff at the scents in the air, checking the direction Ashton went. Ashton had marked "his" territory four times already. Idiot. If he came across the brothers Grimm, he would never be able to handle a wolf-to-wolf fight. Not as a newly turned lupus garou, Hunter didn't think.

Although if Tessa did manage to shoot one of them twice, he probably wouldn't be messing with anyone for a while. The one with the broken leg would be pretty incapacitated still. Hunter relaxed a little.

Until he heard a wolf howl somewhere in the distance farther north. Ashton. Maybe.

Hunter headed in the wolf's direction. The snow was falling heavier, the air colder, the flakes burying the evergreens, making them droop like white-bearded old men. The place was already looking like a winter wonderland again.

The pain in Hunter's shoulder seemed to grow incrementally every step he took. Going for a run with Rourke later was now out of the question. He hoped Rourke could hold off a while longer.

Something moved to the west, catching his eye. He whipped around. A cougar stood still, holding a rabbit between his teeth, his eyes wary as he watched Hunter.

His heart thundering, Hunter waited, twitching his ears back and forth, listening to the rapid beat of the cougar's heart. With any luck, the cougar would take his meal and go, but he stared Hunter down like any feral predator would. Messing with a wild cat when they were protecting their meal could be a dangerous proposition. One of his lupus garou pack had perished when fighting a cougar this big, and Hunter had no intention of tangling with him when he needed to protect that idiot Ashton.

A twig snapped west of them. The cougar bolted through the woods and the reason came into view. Ashton--his fur more of a beige, his snout a little darker, a dead duck in his mouth. If Hunter could laugh in his wolf form at the ridiculousness of it, he would.

Movement in the woods behind Hunter made him twist around. Pain sliced through his shoulder. Fury slid through his veins, setting his blood on fire as he found Rourke facing him. His fur a dark brown, he bowed his head slightly to Hunter.

Holy crap! He would kill the two of them. Hunter raced in the direction where he'd left his clothes, but even so it would take valuable time to get there, dress, and run home. If anything happened to Tessa, he would never forgive himself.

Even though he kept telling himself he should have left Ashton and Rourke to fend for themselves after what they'd pulled, he couldn't. Not by lupus garou laws. Once they were turned, they had to be somebody's responsibility and no one else was stepping up for the job.

Technically, Tessa wasn't his responsibility. So why was his human side casting away all his inborn rules? Damn it to hell. If anything happened to her... there would be hell to pay.

When he finally reached his clothes, he shoved them on, no longer feeling the pain in his shoulder because of the adrenaline spiking through his system. Ashton ran up beside him, the stupid dead mallard still in his mouth. Rourke ran ahead toward the house. No sign of his clothes, so he must have changed sooner after he left the house. Hell, hopefully, not in front of Tessa.

His heart hammering, Hunter sprinted for the house. A couple of hours had already passed since he had left Tessa, and he still had another damn mile left to go in the snowdrifts.

The brunette's amber eyes speared Tessa, then she turned her attention to Cara. "Where the hell is Hunter?" she repeated.

"Is he your brother? Uncle Basil's nephew?" Tessa asked, hoping the woman could trigger the rest of Hunter's memories and he would recall his past, praying the woman wasn't his girlfriend.

Cara raised a brow. "I thought you said his last name was Grey. It isn't?"

Oh hell. Tessa hadn't meant to tell the world, but if this woman knew Hunter... "Come inside. Hunter had a terrible accident, and he's lost his memory, but he's been regaining it in bits and pieces."

The woman's eyes widened. "Where is he?"

"He's... he's okay. Just taking a walk with a couple of other guys in the woods. But how do you know him? Please," Tessa said, motioning to the living room. "Come in and get warm by the fire. Would you like some cocoa?"

The woman pointed at Cara and growled, "Who's she to Hunter?"

Cara smiled in an evil way. "His personal nurse." She tilted her nose up and took in a deep breath. "And you're his sister?"

Having had the sinking feeling the woman might be his girlfriend, Tessa could now see the resemblance, the same dark hair, the same colored eyes, the well-defined cheekbones and aristocratic noses, and relief washed over her. "Meara?"

The woman frowned. "How did you know my name if he lost his memory?"

"He called it out when he was delirious the one night. He remembered having a sister, but not his full name or where he was from."

"How was he injured?"

The women followed Tessa into the kitchen where she refilled mugs with fresh cocoa. "He said three men pushed him off a cliff."

Her face colorless, Meara gripped the back of one of the kitchen chairs. "Uncle Basil said you were trouble."

Tessa didn't fully believe it when he'd been so kind to her, yet an inkling of self-doubt wormed its way into her system.

"Oh boy," Cara said, casting Meara a look. "Not good. A guy's been breaking into Tessa's house also."

"Figures." Meara shook her head. "Greymere's our name."

At least Hunter had half of his name right.

"So if you work at the hospital in the city, what are you doing way out here?" Meara asked in the same manner she spoke to Tessa, and she figured it was just her way. Or she didn't like women much.

Cara didn't seem to be bothered by the sarcasm in Meara's voice and shrugged. "Hunter left the hospital without being released first."

"Oh," Meara said, her brows knitting together. "He was in the hospital because of the fall?"

"A wolf bit him." Tessa served up the cocoa. "He said he had a phobia about hospitals. That he couldn't stand being in a hospital longer than necessary."

Meara cast Cara a look.

Cara smiled. the look was a bit devious, which made Tessa wonder what was up between them. Even though Meara didn't seem to care for Cara, a mutual connection seemed to exist, like between Cara and Hunter. Tessa shook her head, annoyed at herself for overanalyzing people's darker motives when there was probably nothing to them, as usual.

"Can you tell me why he has such a phobia?" Tessa ushered them into the living room.

"No."

No, as in she didn't know? Or she did and wouldn't tell Tessa?

Meara sat down on the couch, her eyes taking in every detail in the place from the fire in the brick fireplace, to the photos of wildlife on the wall. Tessa wondered what she was thinking, but the woman's face remained impassive. "How long has Hunter been here?"

"A couple of days."

"An overnight stay at the hospital also," Cara added.

"I'll take him off your hands," Meara said softly, changing her whole demeanor. "Where did you say he went?"

Tessa didn't want Hunter taken off her hands. She wanted to wrap him in her arms and stay there until spring. Already lack of sleep was giving her a major headache.

Cara gave Meara a small smile. "I think Hunter's way over his head on this one."

Both women looked in the direction of the kitchen seconds before someone banged on the door like he intended to break it in. Tessa grabbed the rifle and headed for the kitchen, but when she saw Hunter and Rourke at the door, she quickly set the gun down and unlocked it.

Hunter took Tessa into his arms and squeezed the breath out of her. "Thank god, you're all right."

And at once she sensed he really did feel something for her deep down, while she felt the same kind of incomprehensible bond between them.

He separated from her a little and gazed down at her. A hint of tears filled his eyes, and the sight of them touched her soul. He hugged her again. Wrapping her arms around him, she basked in his heated embrace, forgetting for the moment his sister was behind her, or that Nurse Godzilla would make a move on Ashton next. At least Tessa assumed she would.

Ashton entered the kitchen and set a dead duck on her counter. What...?

Rourke came up behind Hunter. "What the hell is the nurse from the hospital doing here? And who is she?"

That was when Hunter saw his sister and dropped Tessa like she was a burning ember. Not expecting to be coldly thrust aside, she felt a heartbeat of rejection, but then quickly reminded herself his seeing his sister had to be quite a shock. But would he remember her? And everything about his past life?

"Meara." He stared at her for a long moment and then hurried to hug her. "Meara."

Thank god, he remembered her.

"Dear brother. I thought I'd lost you. I've been looking for you for three days. Then I tracked you here.

Tessa said you'd lost your memory."

"Hell, Meara, you'd taken off with..." He glanced back at Tessa, his eyes and face hard. "We'll be right back." He pulled Meara outside. "Who the hell were they and where the hell did you go?" He slammed the door closed.

So he did remember more.

Figuring the family reunion would go a lot better than that if her own brother had been returned to her, Tessa's mouth gaped in surprise. Apparently Hunter's seeing his sister did bring back memories, but that didn't seem to be a good thing.

Hunter escorted his sister far enough away from the house that no one could hear them. He glowered at her, waiting for Meara to tell him what had happened, the notion of her disappearing from the house in the company of the three gray males hitting him like an icy avalanche of bad memories.

"Quit looking at me like the devil's possessed me, Hunter!" She looked out to the ocean.

She was beautiful and any one of a number of males would want her, but her reluctance to choose a mate from the alphas she'd seen fit to date was one thing-- running off with a bunch of horny betas quite another.

"I'm sorry," she finally said under her breath. "I... I came right home after the idiots talked me into running with them for a while. It didn't take much time for me to appreciate none of them would interest me for very long. I... I didn't realize someone would have tried to kill you in the meantime." She glanced up at him, her body shuddering in the cold wind.

He took her arm and pulled her into his embrace. "We've got to stick together, Meara. No matter what else happens with the pack, we're family."

"I looked everywhere for you, and then thought about this Tessa Anderson woman and how she'd intrigued you. I thought maybe you'd come here to be with her. I smelled your scent here, and sat on the back patio, hoping you'd look out and see me. But Tessa peered out the window instead. I figured you'd succumbed to her charms. I'd considered howling to let you know I was out back, but I was afraid the men I'd run off from might locate me. So I returned home. The next morning I drove here, but no one was here. I had no way of knowing you had been injured so badly." Tears glistened in Meara's eyes, and as much as she tried to hide her feelings, he knew she felt badly that her irresponsibility could have gotten him killed. But worse, she would have been left alone to fend for herself, and that made his stomach clench even tighter.

"Tell me what happened," she said.

He explained about the three brothers, the mess Tessa was in, and the problem with the two newly turned lupus garous. Meara had been quiet, taking everything in, until he came to Rourke's story. And then she laughed out loud.

"I never expected to find you--the great Hunter--in such a quandary."

"Yeah, well, hell, if you hadn't run off..." He said the harsh words before he could stop himself.

She focused on his chest, and he was afraid she was going to dissolve into tears. But then she raised her gaze, cast him an irritated look, and tried to put the blame on him again. Knowing her, she couldn't deal with the guilt.

"You know how important it is to keep our situation secret from humans. Isn't that what's drummed into us? Kill them if they get wind of the truth. Or change them only if the situation truly warrants it. What a mess. How are you going to fix all this, Hunter?"

"I should have been getting the cabins ready to rent out, waiting on the pack to tire of the city and join us." But even thinking of that, he couldn't believe how all the memories flooded back to him so quickly. The fire, losing their home, Uncle Basil's warning him to take "care" of Tessa Anderson, and the subsequent fight he'd had with the gray wolves when he'd gone in search of his wayward sister. He was certain his uncle hadn't quite had this scenario in mind when he gifted the properties to Hunter though.

"None of our people have returned yet." Meara pushed her windswept hair out of her eyes.

"I'm surprised Leidolf, the red pack leader in Portland, hasn't chased them off yet. Maybe our pack members are behaving themselves for a change." He shook his head. "I don't believe it for a second." He took a deep breath. "As soon as I resolve this situation with the gray who's stalking Tessa, I'll make the trip to Portland and force the pack to return."

"You can't stay here. You can't get involved with her."

"I am involved." He wondered if other pack leaders had this much trouble. "No more running after men I don't approve of." He tilted her chin up with the tip of his finger and looked directly into her eyes, warning her to mind him this time.

She nodded, her look angry, but then it softened a hair with a hint of a smile. "Can't afford to. You'll change half the population of Oregon if I leave you alone again."

He grunted and moved her toward the house. "You're staying with me until I take care of the gray."

She growled, and he knew the fight had only just begun.

"Family feud," Cara said, motioning to Hunter and Meara outside, then turned her attention to Ashton. "Went hunting, I see. I like duck, too."

Rourke rolled his eyes. "I'm getting a shower before supper." He looked at the clean kitchen. "You are fixing it soon, aren't you?"

"We just ate a little over three hours ago!" Tessa declared.

"That's long enough. I'm starving. So is Ashton." Rourke waved at the dead duck.

"Hunter, too, after all the exercise we had." He stalked down the hall.

"I didn't have a chance to have lunch," Cara said.

Well, Tessa wasn't hungry. She glanced out the kitchen window. "Looks like we're going to get snowed in. You might want to leave before that happens," she said to Cara. Tessa had no idea why she would want to save Ashton's butt. Although he cast her a grateful look.

"I'll hang around. I haven't been with... a lot of people... on a more social basis for a number of years. This is the most fun I've had in eons," Cara said.

Tessa couldn't understand what the woman was talking about. No one seemed enthusiastic about seeing her even. Why would she think anyone wanted to be around her?

"Did you lose your bandages, Ashton?" Cara asked, her voice sultry and sexy as she took hold of his injured hand. "Tessa, do you have some new ones? I'll fix him right up."

"Sure, I'll get them and the antibiotics." Tessa glanced at Ashton's hand, but Cara was holding it so that she couldn't see the bite wound.

When Tessa returned to the kitchen, Hunter and Meara had come back inside. For being reunited after losing her brother, and considering the ordeal he had been through, they scowled at each other and didn't appear grateful in the least. But worse, gone was Hunter's lustful interest in Tessa. At once she felt she was the center of the controversy and wasn't good enough for the family.

Well, he had said he couldn't promise her anything. Just that he would help her find Bethany's murderer and set her brother free. Tessa should have known when his memory came back, she would be history. But no matter how she tried to reconcile herself with the notion, she couldn't squash the dismal feeling he would soon abandon her.

"Here, Cara." Tessa handed her the bandages. "I guess everyone's staying for dinner?" She cast Hunter a questioning glance. She halfway expected him to say he was leaving with his sister for good now.

His brows still furrowed, his lips grim, he nodded. He gave Meara a hard look. She folded her arms and looked doubly cross at Tessa. So much for a lovely dinner when she wasn't even hungry. Cara was the only one who seemed to be pleased to be here, and the one Tessa really wanted to see leave.

Tessa pulled out a package of hot links. "Can everyone manage spaghetti with hot sausage, bell peppers, and onions?"

"Hmm, sounds good to me," Cara said, licking her lips while she bandaged Ashton's hand with tender loving care. He tried to jerk his hand away, but she held on tight and tsked.

"Anything you fix is fine with us." Hunter's tone of voice was terse.

Meara didn't have a choice?

Wearing a towel, Rourke came out of the bathroom and hollered from the hallway, "Fine with me."

How had he heard what she'd asked? She stared after him as he slipped into Michael's room to grab some clothes. What had gotten into him? She'd never thought he'd dress so scantily in front of a bunch of women.

"The snow's bound to make the road impassable again. Is anyone leaving soon?" She directed the question at Cara and Meara. "The food won't take long to fix so we can eat and let you get on your way."

"No work for me tonight," Cara said cheerfully.

Hunter grunted. "Meara's staying here with me for as long as I need to be here."

For as long as he needed to be here. Well, that said it all. Once he was done helping her, Hunter was out of here.

Fine with Tessa. "I guess you'll want to sleep with your sister then, and--"

Cara laughed. "A macho male like Hunter sleeping with his sister? That would be the day."

Tessa sure wasn't sleeping with Hunter under the current circumstances. "Okay, well, you and Meara can sleep together and--"

"I'll stay with Ashton," Cara announced, her eyes flashing with humor. "He might need medical attention during the night. Look at how pale the poor man is."

He had been, but now his face flushed crimson. Tessa had never seen him blush. She expected some objection from Lord Hunter, but he didn't say anything. She was really surprised Ashton wouldn't have nixed Cara's suggestion himself.

Tessa threw the fajita bell pepper and onion mix into the saucepan, added the sausage links, and then the tomato sauce. "Okay, then Hunter and Rourke can take the spare bedroom and Meara and I--"

"I sleep alone," Meara said, fire burning in her eyes.

Wearing a clean pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, Rourke walked into the room. More casual than she had ever seen him. In fact, the sweatshirt belonged to her brother.

"I don't mind sleeping by the fire. I can watch the rest of the house that way in the event anyone plans to break in," he said.

Tessa considered Hunter's expression, but it was still dark as ever. About the sleeping arrangements? Or something else?

She coyly smiled. "Hunter, you can sleep with Rourke by the fire and keep him company."

Meara laughed, a catty, annoyed kind of laugh. She stalked into the kitchen and began opening drawers. When she found the silverware, she set it on the table.

Guess she could be a little bit of help. Maybe Meara was mad at Hunter and not at her. Still, Tessa had every intention of cooling her relationship with Hunter because when he left, she didn't want to be upset over it for days, weeks, months afterward. Best to end this insane infatuation now.

Life had been so simple for Hunter after Tessa had found him on the beach: discover his identity, learn what had happened to him, deal with Tessa's stalker, and find Bethany's murderer so Michael could be released from prison.

Now he had to deal with two freshly turned lupus garous. And Meara. Unfortunately, she had been right concerning everything they had fought about.. All that mattered was the lupus garous' safety and secrecy. He knew that. As pack leader, he sure as hell didn't want his sister reminding him of the fact. He should have taken Meara, Rourke, and Ashton back to his cabin resort up north once he learned that's where he lived and pretended Tessa and her problems didn't exist.

Any other alpha leader would not have allow himself to be dragged into human affairs.

But he couldn't and wouldn't abandon her. Not yet. Tessa had taken him in and cared for him when she didn't have a clue as to who he was. If he left her alone, the stalker would change her against her will. Hunter wouldn't let him. Another alpha leader, given the same scenario, would take the gray to task also, if he had been in his territory, but beyond that, she would be on her own. For now, Tessa's property was in Hunter's territory--newly franchised.

He couldn't let her brother stay in prison for a crime he didn't commit. No other wolf would feel obligated to help out in a case like this--except in the event one of their kind did the killing. Dealing with the lupus garou would be the end of it though. No lupus garou would try to release an innocent human. In fact, he would serve to keep the lupus garous out of the limelight. But Hunter couldn't allow it, although how he was going to get Michael out of his incarceration eluded him. First of course, he had to prove the grays had committed the crime.

To complicate matters, Hunter had to force Meara to stay with him and keep her out of trouble. Her first wolf heat was making her crotchety and difficult to handle. Thank heavens he didn't have any more sisters and that none of the three wolves she had taken off with had forced a mating. She needed an alpha to spar with and keep her in line.

Tessa placed the spaghetti in the pan of boiling water, her back rigid. He took a ragged breath. His shoulder was killing him after running in the woods for so many miles as a wolf today, and all he could think about was making love to the woman who heated his blood as hot as the raging fires they'd left behind in California.

Sleep with his sister? That would be the day. And have Rourke sleep with Meara? She would bite him for sure and not in a playful way. Hunter was glad Cara was targeting Ashton as her love interest. He needed to remind him, though, if he mated her, it was a onetime deal. No fooling around a few nights, and then parting ways, although if she did mate him, that might be the solution to one of his problems. She would teach Ashton the ways of being a lupus garou and take him off Hunter's hands.

If Tessa thought Hunter was sleeping with Rourke in the living room, she could think again. For one, he didn't trust that the gray might not attempt to break her window and get in while she was alone. All he would do was bite her, and then come back to claim her later once she was a lupus garou. Hunter assumed the gray had intended to kill Ashton, and then bite Tessa, but when she brought out the rifle and started shooting, he gave that notion up in a hurry.

"Hunter," Meara said. "Gathering wool? We're all sitting down to eat."

Tessa had moved her plate to the foot of the table and had seated Meara next to him in her place. He smiled at Tessa's tenacity. Still, he was angry with himself for feeling more than he should toward Tessa and that Meara had to remind him of his duty to their pack, but most of all to their kind. Yet, he couldn't help but admire the spunky human female.

"They're getting married in the spring," Cara said, as the tension escalated in the dining room as thick as the snow was getting outside. "Won't they make a cute couple?"

Meara choked on her water. Tessa avoided looking at Hunter and cut up her sausage.

"She just said that so she could get in to see Hunter at the hospital." Rourke glowered at Cara. "Why are you here anyway?"

"To bring the hospital release forms for Hunter. So what do we do after dinner? Do you have any board games? Cards? Anyone want to play strip poker?"

"After we finish here, I need a word with Ashton, and then we're all going to bed. We've had quite a day of it. And we've got a lot of work to do tomorrow," Hunter said.

"Can I be in on this little adventure?" Cara asked.

"You can keep Tessa company. Both you and Meara. Rourke and I have some hunting to do."

"Can I go, too?" Ashton asked, looking chagrined.

Cara patted his arm. "We need you to protect us."

"Are you going to Bethany's place? They've removed the police locks, and I have a key if you need one," Tessa said.

"Yeah, we'll need a key."

Tessa's eyes filled with tears and Hunter couldn't tell if she was happy he was still looking into this situation for her brother, or was worried they wouldn't discover who really murdered Bethany.

Meara cleared her throat and patted Hunter's hand. "And if you see those three guys I was with while you're at it, don't kill them, okay, Hunter? We were just having some fun. Nothing more."

Hunter gave her a dark look. He wanted to bang those guys' heads together for stealing an alpha leader's sister right out from under his nose. They had to be some of the dumbest betas around. He thought his sister would have had better sense. He was surprised neither Ashton nor Rourke showed any interest in her. But maybe they were afraid of how Hunter might react--and for good reason.

After dinner, Cara and Meara helped Tessa with the dishes. Rourke and Ashton went with Hunter to get another load of firewood in case the electricity went out again. The wind was gusting higher and the waves were growing more violent. If the weather got much worse, the increasing storm would flood the beach, and they wouldn't be able to forage for firewood.

"Remember how I told the two of you that mating is for life? That's something that can't be broken except by death. It might be a hard concept for you to understand since you've always been human, but it's the wolf way and the lupus garou way."

Rourke grabbed an armload of wood. "What about Tessa?"

"She's different." Hunter didn't want to have to defend his actions to a subordinate wolf and wouldn't have if it hadn't been that Rourke was Tessa's friend and was sincerely concerned about her well-being.

"You mean, she's human so her feelings don't count." Rourke headed back up the hill.

"Damn it, Rourke, of course her feelings matter. We're both adults. We had consensual sex and that's all there is to it. As a lupus garou we can't have sex with another lupus garou unless we accept the female as a permanent mate. Humans don't live by the same rules, as well you know. And I've already explained to her our relationship can't be permanent."

"So if we want to party with a woman, she has to be a human." Ashton trudged up the slope with an armload of timber behind Hunter.

"Yeah, so that means you can sleep with Cara, but no sex. If you go all the way with her, you're mated-- for life."

Rourke chuckled. "What if she forces herself on him?"

"In the case of a forced mating, the punishment for the perpetrator is death. Unless the victim chooses to accept the perpetrator as his or her mate. We don't tolerate the abuse of our lupus garous or laws."

Wide-eyed, both Rourke and Ashton stared at him.

"Hell, I knew it would be a lot of trouble teaching the two of you all the rules." Hunter gave Ashton a sympathetic look. "If you don't want Cara for a mate, just say no. Firmly! Don't waffle."

Rourke laughed out loud. "She doesn't look like she readily accepts taking no for an answer. Thank god she latched onto Ashton and not me."

When Hunter opened the back door, he heard Cara say, "If you want him--" She abruptly quit speaking, but he wished he knew who she had been talking to and who "he" referred to.

"Ashton, do something with that dead duck." Hunter motioned to the kitchen on his way to the living room. "Stick it in the fridge or something."

Then he walked into the living room and found the three women watching him. "Early morning, ladies. Let's get some sleep."

"Is he always this bossy?" Tessa rose from the couch, scarcely giving him a look.

"Always," Meara said.

"I'll get you some sheets and blankets, Rourke." Brushing past Hunter, Tessa headed down the hall.

Cara hopped up from recliner. "Need some bandaging, Hunter?"

Hell, he forgot he'd removed his bandages on the run, and Tessa was sure to wonder how come he was healing so fast as soon as she saw his naked torso when they went to bed. "Yeah, let's go to the bathroom."

In the hall, they passed Tessa carrying an armful of bedding, and she gave Hunter a scornful look. He was definitely in the doghouse, but he didn't know why. He closed the bathroom door behind him.

Cara located the bandages in a drawer. "You're going to have to turn her."

"No."

"The way you look at her, you could melt her heart. She'll accept our ways before long." Cara taped up his shoulder.

"She has a brother. Even in the distant past, lupus garous targeted those who had no families so they wouldn't be missed."

"All right, so change her brother, too."

"I've already got enough trouble on my hands in the form of two new lupus garous."

"Your wound is looking much better, but I bet it hurts after that run you took for as long as you were gone." She found some medicine and handed him a glass of water. "I want to join your pack."

He choked on the pills. "I thought you didn't like pack politics." All he needed was another female alpha upstart in the pack. Although they were always short on females, and she might entice some of the rest of his pack to return.

She smiled and wound a dark curl around her finger. "I didn't like my pack's politics. But I'm intrigued with yours. Besides, you need some help with these new guys. I don't think your sister is interested in showing them the ropes."

"Don't push Ashton too hard."

"Hmm, he's an awfully interesting candidate. The vote is still out on him. But I'll let you know one way or another what I decide."

"I mean it. He doesn't understand our rules, even though I've explained them to him. Don't force him on this."

"As in seduce him? I'll try not to."

Someone banged on the bathroom door. "Are you going to hog the bathroom all night, Hunter?" Meara scolded. "Why don't you use the master bathroom since you'll be sleeping in the master's bedroom anyway?"

Cara patted Hunter on the chest. "Yep, you could use my help."

Hunter opened the bathroom door, brushed past his sister, and stalked into the living room. Time to settle matters between him and Tessa and get a good night's sleep.

Tessa was speaking low to Rourke while she helped him make a bed on the couch. Hell, couldn't Rourke make his own damned bed?

She gave Hunter a cursory glance and then ignored him. He shared a look with Rourke that meant he had better not be getting any ideas about Tessa either.

Rourke quickly caught the message. "I can do the rest of this. Thanks, Tessa."

Hunter seized Tessa's hand. "We'll be leaving early in the morning, Rourke, so get a good night's sleep."

Before Tessa could object, Hunter hauled her down the hall.

Cara winked at her from the entrance to Michael's bedroom. "Sleep tight."

Meara was already running the shower in the guest bathroom, and Ashton had gone to bed. Hunter hoped Ashton could resist Cara's charms if he didn't truly want her in the event the woman decided to seduce him after all.

In Tessa's bedroom, Hunter released her hand and shut the door.

She folded her arms and glowered at him. "What, Hunter? What do you want from me? I'm not in the habit of having flings with guys I've just met. And since you've made it abundantly clear you're leaving as soon as you fulfill your promise, I don't want you staying in here with me any longer."

Hunter motioned to the window. "If I leave you alone, the stalker could try to break in. So I'm staying with you, end of discussion."

"That's it? That's all the reason you're giving for wanting to sleep with me?" Her eyes flamed hotter than a fire's blue flame.

"That's a pretty damned good reason."

She whirled around and headed for the master bathroom, walked inside, and slammed the door.

He raised his brows. If he didn't know better, he would think Tessa was going through her first wolf's heat. Women.

He yanked off his shoes, sweatshirt, and pants and climbed into bed. Why couldn't women be more like men? More... logical? Surely, she could see how he needed to be here for her protection after all that had happened. He pulled the covers to his waist.

She took forever in the shower and even longer drying her hair. The mattress in Michael's bedroom began to squeak, the bed frame banging lightly against the opposite wall. Hunter shook his head.

Tessa came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of pink flannel pajamas covered in red lips and pink hearts and a pair of fuzzy pink, red and white striped socks. She again folded her arms and gave him an icy look, although her bedroom attire ruined her angry effect. Not only that, but if she thought wearing pj's hid that sexy body of hers, she was mistaken.

Even now her nipples stood out against the soft fabric, and he was ready to tackle her, drag her to bed, and ravish her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Michael's bed banged violently against the wall, making her hesitate and glance in that direction. Hunter smiled.

She snorted. "Great. I hope that doesn't go on all night. Why don't you just move the dresser in front of the window like we did in Michael's room? Then you can stay with Rourke and you won't have to baby-sit me."

"Come on, Tessa. Get in bed. Heater's off. The room's cold. Join me under the covers and get warm."

"I'm warm enough." She jerked her covers aside and climbed into bed.

"Do you always wear such sexy nightclothes?"

She gave him a derisive hmpf back. He chuckled. "I thought all women wore T-shirts to bed."

"Have you been with a lot?"

As many years as he had lived, yes. But in the scheme of things, no. And certainly not recently. The worst was during the Victorian era. Although some of the ladies were daring enough to strip down to bare skin, some insisted they remain fully dressed in their long nightgowns while he satisfied them. Pj's were certainly no obstacle. "There's been no one for a long time, Tessa."

And never anyone as special as her.

"I wear pajamas in the winter because I don't like to waste electricity heating the place at night."

"Hmm-hmm."

"What? You think I'm just wearing these because you're here? I usually sleep alone and that's why I wear warm pj's."

"Snuggle with me, Tessa. Then we'll both be warm."

She didn't say anything. He waited for her to come to him like she had done before, but she didn't.

"I don't wear T-shirts in the summer either," she finally remarked.

Nude, that's the way he liked his women, but he didn't figure Tessa ever went to bed like that. "So if you don't wear pajamas in the summertime, do you slide naked into a bed of satin sheets?"

She offered a derisive chuckle. "Right."

"I'll have to visit you in the summer then."

She remained silent.

"Come on, Tessa. I'm getting cold."

"Put Michael's sweatshirt on then."

Fine. He took the initiative. He knew he shouldn't. She was right in trying to keep the distance between them. But he also recognized she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He moved closer to her and pulled her into his arms, but she remained rigid. He tried to caress her hair, but a twinge of pain streaked through his shoulder, and he groaned.

The tension seemed to drain from her spine, and she melted in his embrace. "You shouldn't have carried that load of firewood up to the house. What were you trying to prove? How macho you are to the other guys? They weren't injured as badly as you. You could use some common sense."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

She turned slightly toward him, her brows pinched, her eyes narrowed. "Are you hurting really badly?"

"Some," he admitted, since she seemed to like him better when he was in pain or he would never have said.

"Well, lie on your back and I'll..." She took a deep breath. "I'll snuggle with you so you don't have to hurt your shoulder."

He was about to say something, but decided he would be better off not in case he ruined her generous offer. Instead, he rolled onto his back. He wanted to feel her against him, skin to skin, even though her flannel pajamas were soft and cuddly. At this point, he didn't figure he could push her to remove her clothes. She reached over to join him, brushing her fingers over his naked thigh.

She recoiled. "Where are your sweatpants?"

"You know, in situations where a person is hypothermic, naked bodies pressed together provide more heat than if they're clothed."

Her mouth gaped and her gaze narrowed again. "Well, I'm not hypothermic. Are you?"

Luckily, because of the dark, she couldn't see the way he was grinning at her. "I'm feeling chilled to the bone after chasing down Ashton and then getting a load of firewood."

"We could turn on the heat."

"Nah, waste of electricity." He reached over and unbuttoned her top button. "Come warm me, Tessa."

"Like Cara's warming Ashton?"

He was pretty sure Tessa's voice held a hint of sarcasm not hope.

Hunter didn't answer and when she didn't stop him, he finished unfastening her buttons and removed her top, taking a deep breath to see her breasts heavy and her nipples already hard.

Despite wanting to make love to her, he knew he had to leave the decision up to her. They both recognized it couldn't last.

At first, he took it slow and easy, sliding her pajama bottoms down her silky thighs. He forgot how much his shoulder hurt or how he shouldn't be making love with the woman again. All because she licked his lips, hummed her pleasure, and combed her fingers through his hair with tenderness. His arousal jumped, and she chuckled deep and sexylike. Again, he found himself wishing she were a lupus garou.

She leaned her supple nude body against his, heating his skin to the nth degree. "Cara said I should try to keep you for my own," she whispered against his lips, then licked them again. She slid over his erection and he moaned.

"Oh, sorry about your shoulder." She started to slip off him, and he grabbed hold of her lissome body, his hands cupping her buttocks, keeping her tight against him.

"Not my shoulder." But he couldn't conceal his annoyance with Cara that she would interfere in his affairs. She knew better than to encourage Tessa's further interest in him.

"Hmm," Tessa murmured, nuzzling her face against his cheek, "she said you're a real alpha male." Tessa slid her body lower and kissed his nipple.

The sensation sent a jolt straight to his rigid erection. He grabbed fistfuls of her hair and became mesmerized in the peach-scented, soft red curls.

"But of course, I already knew that." She swirled her tongue around his nipple and then teased the stiff peak.

Hunter groaned. She was killing him. A shiver stole through every nerve ending. No one had ever brought him so close to climaxing with such a simple, sweet touch.

"So then, how do I keep someone as wild as you, Hunter? How would I entice you to want me for longer than a fling?" She folded her arms across his chest and rested her chin on them.

Although he knew she couldn't see his face for the dark, she looked straight at him, her eyes challenging.

"I know for whatever reason, you don't want me," she said, her expression dead serious.

His hands stilled on her bare arms. Hell, where did she get the idea he didn't want her?

"So that's fine. We do it, and both satisfy some primal urge and that's it. No strings attached. I've never had it so good as with you. And so..." She shrugged. "I might as well enjoy it until the next guy comes along. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll be just as good as you. Or, heck, maybe even better."

Hunter didn't say anything for a moment. Despite her goading him, she wouldn't get him to say that which was on the tip of his tongue--that he wouldn't let her be with anyone else. That he would be the only one for her. But he couldn't. "There won't be anyone better."

She smiled in the most devilish way. "Never know, Hunter. You just never know."

Forget the damned shoulder. He would show her how good it got. He pushed her onto her back, and she laughed.

"Vixen." Now it was his turn to tease her enticing nipples, his tongue laving over one while his thumb stroked the other, preparing it for its due.

"Hmm, what about your shoulder?"

"I'll survive."

She smiled as she ran her fingers over his whiskered cheek. "I could ride you."

"Too late for that. You had your chance." Ride him? Yeah, some other time, but for now he wanted to be on top, controlling, possessing her. No one could replace him. "I should give you one of those sexy rubs you gave me."

"When your shoulder's better."

He'd take her up on it. Massage everywhere, too.

He slipped his hand between her legs and pushed them apart. "Hmm, warm, wet, and willing." Hot, she was hotter than any woman he'd ever been with.

He wanted to take it nice and slow, but his shoulder was acting up too much. He gritted his teeth, centered himself between her legs, and plunged his erection deep inside her.

"You might be right," she whispered against his mouth.

"I'm always right."

She laughed and pinched his butt. "Always so modest and not in the least bit arrogant."

He growled, "No one will be better."

Hunter was sooo good, Tessa thought as he sank into her again and again, stretching her, rubbing against her sweetest spot, making her yearn for more. He lowered his mouth to hers as her insides burned a thousand fires, the hair on his chest caressing her nipples, sensitizing them even more, his body sliding against hers, intoxicating her.

She savored every bit of his hot-blooded nature, his wanting his way with her, his possessiveness, his protectiveness. She never wanted the lovemaking to stop because with it she felt complete, whole, satisfied, and a part of his life that she didn't care to end.

"Hmm, Hunter," she mewed, loving every bit of him, and he recaptured her lips as if to say he knew he did wicked things to her body no man had ever done--carried her to the heavens and back in a million shattered, ecstatic pieces. And here she thought the reason for her inability to feel anything for another man had all to do with her. That she couldn't inspire such passion.

Hunter rubbed her most sensitive spot at the juncture of her thighs, making her beg for more--for faster, harder, fulfilling completion. And then she reached the point of no return, a blast of heat washing through her, mind-numbing satisfaction as ripples of orgasm gripped her in the final throes of passion. He joined her, milky heat filling her womb, warming her like a hot bath, and he groaned with deep satisfaction.

He pulled away, but not separating from her, just rolling backward, keeping her close as he settled on his back, her leg resting between his, her arms wrapped around him and his around her tightly. To sleep with her in his cocoon of an embrace, his rapid heart thumping out a comforting rhythm in her ear, to keep the connection.

She wanted to say how much she loved him, not in a marriage kind of way, but because of all he already meant to her. No one had ever been so shielding, or considerate of her feelings, or so determined to take care of her in her time of need, without wishing anything in return. And the sex? Oh, yes, no man had ever made her feel so sexy and wanted her like she was an aphrodisiac he couldn't get enough of, or made her nearly climax with a seductive glance, touch, whispered word. And no man had ever wanted to keep her close after the lovemaking was done, showing her he wanted more than just the sex, but also the intimacy of sharing the same space, of maintaining the connection.

From his muscular arms that held her tight to his sculpted abs and the firmest butt she had ever seen on a guy this close up, Hunter was physically as beautiful as one of the Greek statues of gods. Deep down, he was all she'd ever hoped for in a man. And for the moment, he was all hers, although it wouldn't last.

But the tender memories would be hers forever.