The Wolf's Choice Read online

  Her breath whooshed out of her. Her head spun, and she gripped the doorknob, not because the kiss had been unexpected, but because she undeniably craved more.

  Chapter Five

  Niq had shown up to help at the library around three. Rebecca checked her wristwatch. Past six.

  She had trouble convincing him to go home in time for supper. He had even taken to doing his homework at the counter.

  “Niq, you have to go home. Your mom wants you home before dinner.” She didn’t look up from the box she unpacked.

  The door opened and banged against the frame as it shut. With a sigh, she turned and blinked. “Hi.”

  Blaine came toward her, his presence infiltrating every part of the library.

  She’d spent the whole morning mentally pushing away what she’d learned last night, that she wanted more than a light peck from him, and now here he was.

  This is torture.

  The last thing she needed in her life was to get entangled with a man…no, a wolf. That hadn’t been the motivation for coming to Los Lobos. She couldn’t ruin the new relationship she’d tenuously built with her father.

  Rebecca rounded the counter she’d placed the books on. It didn’t provide much of a barrier.

  He tilted his head.

  She ignored the urge to check out his powerful build and focused on his nose instead. “You’re getting on well with Ryker.” She kept her tone casual.

  “We’re best friends.” His nose twitched.

  She smiled. The town buzzed about the two dominants walking wide circles around each other. Wolf power struggles didn’t interest her, but she didn’t like the idea of anyone harming Blaine. The intimacy of the thought made her uncomfortable, and a book slipped out of her hands.

  He caught the hardcover before it hit the floor. Wolfy reflexes. He moved behind the counter and crouched down with her. She held one end of the book, gulping down butterflies, and they headed straight for her stomach.

  “Thank you,” she said on a strangled breath.

  “My pleasure.”

  She tugged, but he didn’t let go. “I appreciate—”

  “Look at me.”

  His simple command came suddenly, and she obeyed. A shudder went through her. The dark pools of his eyes swirled with an emotion she didn’t want to identify, but she couldn’t turn away.

  “That’s more like it.”

  His brandy-soaked voice washed over her and burned where it saturated through her. How could his voice influence her like this? Did he also have the ability to compel like some wolves did?

  She did a quick breathing exercise her psychologist taught her and got a lungful of Blaine’s scent. The woods, man, and green apples. Her whole body pulsed. She could never forget.

  “Can I have the book?” Her voice shook, and she regretted speaking. She didn’t want him to know how much he affected her.

  “And what can I have in return?”

  He can’t be serious. Her heartbeat sped up. “What do you want?”

  “Come to the swimming hole tonight. With me.”

  She blinked. She hadn’t seen that coming. A grin spread across his face.

  “I can’t.”

  His smile dropped. “You can’t, or you won’t?”

  “I’ve got work to do.”

  “We can go the same time as last. It would give you plenty of time to rest.”

  “It’s out of the question.” She straightened.

  “Elijah—”

  “I’m not talking about my father again.”

  He moved in closer, and Rebecca backed up. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

  “I’m not afraid of you.” She just couldn’t think straight when he stood near her.

  “Then don’t be afraid of him. I can protect you.”

  She stared at him. Is that what he thinks? That I’m afraid of my dad? “I don’t need you to protect me. My father isn’t a danger to me.”

  “But he is standing in the way of us getting to know each other.”

  “I don’t want to get involved with anyone, Blaine. I didn’t come to the Black Hills for that.” Liar. Now why did her inner voice have to go and betray her?

  “I’m not anyone.”

  He was right, he wasn’t. With one touch, he had turned her whole world upside down.

  She thought she would never have the type of connection the mated couples in Los Lobos had because humans didn’t have soul mates, much less someone they couldn’t exist without. But she realized now her estimation had been founded on the wrong premise.

  She could have it, just not with an ordinary man.

  But she wasn’t sure of herself in the equation. Look what the last man she picked had done to her. She winced. Then she factored in her father. She had worked on cutting off his control over her choices in life, but she also didn’t want to rock the boat so soon after they’d committed to a tenuous truce.

  Goodness, what am I thinking? Am I really considering Blaine?

  He watched her with that intense gaze of his, as though he followed each thought as it passed through her head. Could he be a mind reader?

  He thrummed his fingers on the counter, as if saying “Take your time. I can wait for you to make up your mind about me.”

  No way, wolves can’t—

  “I’m waiting, Rebecca.”

  “Did you read my mind?” she blurted.

  “No. Your face gives you away.”

  “No it doesn’t!”

  He tucked his thumb under her chin, and her mouth closed. She grimaced. Okay maybe it does.

  He brushed her cheek with his finger, and she shivered. Her eyes closed. No matter how her body responded, she wasn’t emotionally ready for someone like Blaine.

  But what if I am? the deceitful little voice whispered.

  She shouldn’t feel this way about someone she’d met a handful of times. And deliberately spent years forgetting when I left Los Lobos. The truth of the thought startled her, and she moved away from him.

  “Let’s be friends. Elijah can’t keep you from having friends.”

  No he can’t. But—

  “And friends can go for a swim together.”

  She needed to defuse the situation. “Kids hang out there.”

  “Not on a school night, and we’re going at our special time. I’ll come pick you up.” He walked toward the door, and, before she could come up with a counter argument, he stood on the sidewalk, giving her a cheeky wave good-bye through the glass window.

  She palmed her face. What did she let happen? She could’ve denied him if she’d been adamant enough.

  “Rebecca.” The authority was unmistakable.

  She sighed. “Hey, Dad, and yes, it was Blaine you saw leaving.”

  She aimed to pick up the empty box off the counter and place it on the floor by her feet, but her father beat her to the task.

  “Thank you.”

  He didn’t question her further on Blaine, and she said a silent “thank you” to the heavens. For someone who’d had to deal with only one man’s mood swings for the last couple of years, she’d been exposed to way too much testosterone lately.

  “How about we go have dinner at Will and Bridie’s?”

  Dottie’s was owned by humans, and he wanted to go eat there? Had he accepted her staying in Los Lobos?

  “That would be nice.”

  She locked up, and they headed out. Two blocks down the street, she noticed her father was shielding her, keeping her out of sight.

  Maybe she’d jumped the gun on their new understanding.

  Chapter Six

  A loud knock came from the kitchen, startling Rebecca awake. What time is it? The red numbers on her alarm clock couldn’t be right. Half past four?

  The knocking stopped, and the handle rattled.

  She leaped out of bed and ran to the noise as the door swung open. “Are you nuts?”

  Blaine stared do
wn at her, not acknowledging the strangeness of showing up on her doorstep in the middle of the night. “You took too long to open up.”

  “Because I was asleep like a normal person!”

  “Shush, no need to shout.”

  She gasped. He broke into her home again, and he lectured her?

  He shut the door behind him. “Elijah left a half hour ago after he canvassed the block.”

  Rebecca stilled.

  “As much as I appreciate the cute pink frilly pj’s, you can’t go out like that,” he spoke over her stunned silence.

  “You want to go for a swim at this time of the morning?”

  “Unless you want to….” He gestured toward the hallway.

  Rebecca rolled her eyes and turned on her heel. His chuckle followed her into the bedroom where she closed the door with a loud thud.

  She rummaged through her closet, searching for a swimsuit. Why am I going along with this? It’s insane. He could get both of us in trouble.

  She didn’t think he would come. Her father had latched onto her the whole evening and kept a boundary between her and the rest of the town. In those moments, she’d felt more like an outsider than when she’d actually lived on the outside. At Dottie’s, a couple of the pack had come over from their table to say hello, those with children at the local school who couldn’t wait for the library to open. Dad didn’t seem to have an issue with the women and their mates who approached them.

  She had met up with the pack schoolhouse teacher and discussed the books she needed to go with the curriculum and guaranteed she had a broad selection for the different grades to make use of when they had to do class projects.

  By the end of the dinner, she endeavored to look on the bright side. Maybe her father would come around one day. He didn’t have a problem with her mixing with the female population of the pack.

  She found a one-piece suit in one of the boxes and pulled it on then covered up with jeans and a warm top. The spring air held a chill at this hour of the morning, and, unlike Blaine, she didn’t run at an extraordinarily high temperature.

  She did a final check in the mirror as she tied her hair up in a ponytail. I can’t believe I’m doing this.

  Blaine held onto her hand as they made quick work through the town. They walked up to a blue truck parked behind one of the buildings.

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “We are driving in style from here,” he said.

  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. She didn’t want him to think she was 100 percent onboard, because she wasn’t.

  He opened the door on the passenger side, and she hopped in. The toasty interior warmed her quickly.

  He hopped in and started the engine. “Are you ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  Comfortable silence settled in, and she relaxed into her seat. He didn’t turn the radio on or try to make conversation. She appreciated that. She needed to orient herself and make peace with defying her father’s expressed wishes.

  She may come across as a coward for not telling him she could make her own choices, but she desired to have a good relationship with him. What child didn’t want to get along with their parent?

  Of course, hers was a bit overprotective.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Damn wolfy senses. “How much trouble I’m going to be in after tonight.”

  “You’re an adult.”

  She didn’t reply.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Rebecca turned to him in surprise.

  “I’m pushing again. I know I irritated you when I mentioned Elijah.”

  “I’m glad you realize how forward you’re being.”

  “But look where it got me.”

  She shook her head.

  They had taken one of the back roads Rebecca wouldn’t have felt safe to drive by herself because of the rough terrain. Plus her eyesight wasn’t as good as his in the dark. He could probably navigate the mountainous path in his sleep.

  They turned off onto the side road leading to the swimming hole and parked the car. A cluster of thick trees surrounded the pond, so they had to walk the rest of the way. Before she could get out, he stood at the door. After helping her out, he held her hand as he grabbed two beach towels that covered a basket from the back of the truck.

  “We’re having a picnic?” she asked, amused.

  “Sort of.” He shrugged.

  She hadn’t pegged him for the romantic type, and she vowed to not tease him about the sweet gesture.

  A thin mist hung over the water, and she wondered if coming had been such a great idea.

  “The water’s perfect,” he said.

  “How would you know? We just got here.”

  “Because”—he tugged her against his chest—“I’m going to warm it up for you.”

  Her stomach dropped. She would be in an altogether different kind of trouble if she didn’t watch out.

  She pushed away from him. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Well….”

  “Don’t.”

  He grinned. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “We’re friends, remember?” She wagged her finger.

  “Close friends.”

  “I already told you I’m not open for relationships.” Especially since she’d recently become a divorcée.

  “That’s what you think we’d have?”

  “Isn’t it what you want?” She arched her eyebrow. “I’m not stupid, Blaine.”

  “I never said you were.”

  “I’m also not open for a fling, in case you decide the friendship should come with benefits.”

  “We’re going for a pleasant swim.”

  She shook her head. “You’re not going to make this easy.”

  “Unless of course you don’t trust yourself around me.”

  “Oh, I definitely don’t trust myself around you,” she blurted. The predatory gleam in his eyes made her gulp. “I meant—”

  “We both know what you meant.” His sexy smirk caused butterflies to flutter inside her stomach. Her body and mind’s reactions toward him completely contradicted.

  “I just want to get to know you, Rebecca.” As if sensing her distress, he’d switched gears. “We don’t have to swim.”

  “But you’d like to,” she said, looking from him to the dock.

  “I really, really want to.” The husky timbre of his voice caused her cheeks to flush.

  She’d asked for that. Blaine knew exactly what he was doing.

  “Come on. Have fun with me. I haven’t been here in years. It hasn’t changed much.”

  The swing, though well used, didn’t seem as dingy as the one she remembered.

  “How about we swim before we eat?” he suggested.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  He removed his clothes as if he’d done it in front of her a million times. His movements weren’t overtly seductive, but it didn’t matter. He had her biting her bottom lip to keep from gasping when he, in one fluid motion, stepped out of his jeans. His black swimming trunks didn’t fit him like a glove, but they did complement his physique.

  His figure had filled out into strong washboard abs and broader defined shoulders. He looked like he must have a heavy exercise routine. An image of running her fingers over his six-pack came to mind.

  She was in major trouble. If she’d been hooked up to a heart monitor, it would be giving a distress signal.

  “Rebecca.” He caught her staring.

  “Yes.” She grabbed her shirt and shrugged it off, and then she, with a violent jerk, unzipped her jeans and almost caught her swim suit on it.

  Blaine stretched, loosening his muscles then looped his hands behind his neck, and his guns bulged. Her fingers itched to trail the width of them.

  “Last one in is a chicken!”

  His shout brought her back to her senses. She had checked him out like he was ro
ast beef. Pull yourself together, girl.

  Rebecca would never be as fast as him, but she made an effort. His cannonball into the water caused a huge splash, and she followed suit. Then regretted it.

  “Ah, this is freezing!” Her teeth chattered, her hands shook, and her limbs were dead weight in the water. She fought her way to the shore, but strong arms wrapped around her, stopping her.

  His hot body pressed against her skin. “Hold onto me.”

  With his help, Rebecca wrapped her legs around his waist and put her arms about his neck, squashing herself against his front to get warm. He supported her weight with one arm while the other kept her in place.

  “See? Not so bad.”

  “Easy…f-for…you…t-to…say.”

  He planted a kiss on the top of her head. After a while, his heat swept into her bones, and she stopped shivering.

  She buried her nose in his chest, taking deep breaths, telling herself she needed to because it helped her to stay warm. Yeah right.

  “Why aren’t we sinking?”

  “I’m standing on the bottom.”

  She glanced down. She had never before been fascinated by a man’s nipples. Dark brown in contrast to his café au lait skin tone, they pebbled, proudly standing at attention.

  Hers had hardened the moment the icy water touched her. She eased away from him so the sensitive tips didn’t graze his chest.

  She liked being in his arms. And she relished the feel of him. Even if Dad should materialize like a nightmare, she wouldn’t move an inch.

  What’s happening to me? Is this the physical attraction Conrad said they should have?

  “Hey, are you still with me?”

  “Why did you join the pack again?”

  He moved his hand up and down her spine, sending delicious tingles through her. “The simple answer, Los Lobos is home, and it was time. You?”

  “I loved being here. But we had to fake my death because, as you know, Magnum didn’t take too well to wolves who can’t shift. It was tough to be on my own at sixteen. I was thrown into the deep end. I wasn’t used to living with my aunt and going to school in a city like Manhattan. It took a while to adjust, make friends, but eventually I did.”

  Water trailed down the side of his face. She wanted to follow that trail down to his mouth with her tongue. She swallowed hard.