A Howl for a Highlander (22 page)

Even though Kenneth was a couple of feet from Shelley, he instantly stepped back a few more. For the first time, Duncan thought the man might have half a brain. Shelley looked over to see Duncan approaching and smiled brightly at him. Her smile was like a brilliant shaft of sunshine piercing the thick leafy canopy, striking him, and instantly heating him to the core. She didn’t look stressed or concerned, just happy to be in her element, as if she absorbed pleasure from the plants themselves, the oxygen they gave off giving her peace of mind.

She reached for him as if to kiss him in greeting. He had been so anxious to see she was safe that he gathered her into his arms, hugged her like a grizzly, and kissed her smiling mouth. It wasn’t enough. He had to taste her, claim her, let these men know that she was his and that Sal could drop dead. As soon as he released the money he’d stolen, Duncan would take care of him.

Duncan’s mouth sealed with Shelley’s, his tongue ravishing hers, unable to get enough of her. Wanting to get inside her, to claim her, to connect. His hands roamed down her back, sliding her shirt over her warm skin while she wound her arms tightly around his neck. Her breasts were pressed hard against his chest. He felt her arousal, her nipples beaded and enticing, as he knew she felt his erection stirring, growing, craving her as if it had a will of its own.

Her tongue slid over his, her eyes closed as she squirmed a little, not to get free or because she was uncomfortable, but to rub against his straining cock, to show how much she wanted him back.

Vaguely aware they had an audience—he had wanted Sal’s men to understand in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t giving Shelley up for anyone or anything—he cursed under his breath.

“Wow,” Shelley said, coming up for air, licking his lips, and smiling at him. “You missed me.”

He gave a disgruntled sound, wrapped his arm securely around her shoulders, and began to escort her away from Silverman’s men. He didn’t bother to ask if she was finished there because as long as the men hung around, she was done with this spot of the forest. She had to realize just how concerned he’d been about her welfare, even though he’d done his damnedest to appear unaffected when he’d spoken with Sal.

Duncan could just imagine what Sal’s goons were thinking as they’d watched his and Shelley’s heated exchange. Forget giving the woman to Sal; they wanted a piece of the hot little wolf themselves.

“Well? What are we supposed to do?” Kenneth asked the other man, his tone annoyed and breaking the silence that filled the air.

Not that the birds and bugs didn’t make a lot of racket, and the breeze sifting through the trees rustled the leaves in its path. But the men’s silence had garnered Duncan’s attention. No one spoke for a moment. Duncan was certain the men were having a time getting their own lustful thoughts under control.

“We did what we were supposed to do,” one man growled. “Drop him off and leave. Come on. Let’s go.”

Sal’s minions headed out of the reserve, tromping through the forest, one stumbling over a tree root in the path, which made him curse and kick it at the same time. Duncan shook his head and continued to walk Shelley in the opposite direction while Sal’s goons returned to the trailhead.

Shelley talked about the various plants she’d photographed and showed Duncan a picture of a rabbit-sized rodent on her camera. The creature had long, thin legs and hoof-like claws, and she called it an agouti. Duncan recognized it as the shy little beast he had seen the first night he had run with Shelley as a wolf.

She was talking nonstop. He wondered if she was nervous about the men still being nearby and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She smiled up at him as if to say she wasn’t concerned in the least.

A heron took flight nearby. They both watched it soar over the trees.

“Well?” she finally said when they figured they were alone, “what did Sal have to say to you?”

“He wanted to pay me to stay away from you.”

A leaf had caught her eye, and she leaned down to photograph it. “Oh.”

“He wouldn’t meet my price.”

Shelley looked from the leaves she was taking pictures of to Duncan. “What was the price you were willing to hand me over for?”

“Two hundred and fifty million pounds.”

Shelley had been relieved that Duncan had returned to her unharmed and surprised at the way he had so amorously greeted her. But she was even more astounded by this bit of news and she gawked at him. “That can’t be how much he stole from you,” she said softly.

“It is.”

She didn’t know why she hadn’t realized how much the crook might have absconded with. But then again, she couldn’t imagine having that much money. Then to lose it all. She supported only one person, she reminded herself. The money Sal had stolen supported a whole wolf pack. At that point, she was even more resolved to help Duncan.

“You have to get the money back.”

“Aye, I do, lass.”

She took a deep breath and tried to lighten the somber mood. “I’m glad to know you thought I was worth so much.”

He gave her a dark smile. “If only you knew just how much.”

Oh yeah, she knew how much, just from the way he’d kissed her into the ground with Sal’s thugs looking on. She didn’t mind, knowing they would tell their boss that Duncan didn’t look like he had any intention of giving her up. But she knew Duncan was playing for keeps.

“Are you done here? We need to talk. Privately.” His voice was gruff, but she thought that had more to do with his arousal than anything else.

“Yeah, let’s head back to the villa.”

On the drive back to her place, Shelley wondered if Duncan was going about this all wrong as far as Silverman was concerned. What if dealing with his mate might have better consequences? “Duncan, I was wondering—what if we get Sal’s mate involved?”

Chapter 12

Looking astonished that Shelley would suggest involving Sal Silverman’s mate, Duncan frowned at her as they drove back to her villa. “Why would we do that?”

“I don’t believe she’d go along with him having another mate, do you? You said that you thought he’d try to keep her and me from knowing about each other, but I don’t think that would work. For one, we’re both wolves. So if I’m with him, surely she’d realize he’d been with another wolf by smelling me on him or something. And if I were interested in being his mate and he’d been with her, I’m certain I would know that he’d been unfaithful.”

Duncan seemed to consider what Shelley was saying, then replied, “Aye, could be. But since it doesn’t bother him to cheat on his mate, he may believe you wouldn’t be bothered, either. And his true mate may not care if he takes up with you, as long as she continues to live extravagantly off his ill-gotten gains.”

“Is she my age? Older? Younger?”

“His age.”

“Hmm, then she might not like him being interested in a younger wolf. Money may be her only care in the world, but women don’t often give up their mates easily. Especially she-wolves. She might not care about his human conquests, knowing there’s nothing permanent in the relationship and the connection isn’t like between wolves. But his wanting another wolf? That’s a different story.”

She pondered an uglier alternative. “What if Sal thinks the best option would be to get rid of her? Permanently. Before she even learned about me. Or… before I might learn of her. If she found out about me, all she’d have to do is—”

“Put a hit out on you,” Duncan growled. “Hell, Shelley, you could be a prime target for her wrath. Both because you might be the cause of her losing her mate and because he might consider getting rid of her for good so he can have you instead. She’s got the money to hire anyone to do the job, too.”

Shelley considered that for a moment. “I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right. What if we clued her in on the fact that Silverman stole from a wolf pack? She’d know that he was a dead man. A werewolf can’t go to prison. She’d realize he’s only living on borrowed time.”

“She’d still have her money.
Our
money.”

“Right. But what if she thought the wolf pack would go after her next? It’s your money, after all. You’re not going to play nice by the Fed’s rules, allowing her to pretend that it was her money and not the funds that Sal stole. You’ll want them back, or else. She might even be worried enough about her own life to agree to give up your money. If we let her know that Sal is trying to take a new wolf mate—if that’s his intention with me—she won’t care what happens to him. Wolves can be protective of their mates. But she won’t be if she believes he’s planning to eliminate her first.”

Duncan pulled into the driveway of the villa. “That brings us back to her wanting to get rid of you. She might figure that we’d take care of Silverman, and considering what he’s pulling with you, that might be fine with her as long as she’s got the stolen funds stashed under her own name. But she might be so angry about you that she’d want to get rid of you for even thinking of taking her mate away from her.”

Shelley smiled brightly and patted his hard, muscled thigh, thinking of Duncan wearing his kilt and readying his sword. “That’s why I have you, a brave Highland warrior, to protect me.”

He gave her a look that said he didn’t care for the idea. “I don’t like it.”

“I can’t think of a better way to go about this. I truly believe that if she thinks she could lose her life, she’ll be willing to give up your money. She wouldn’t bother trying to protect her mate if she thought he was having an affair with another wolf behind her back.”

“I’ll discuss it with Ian first.”

She wasn’t sure why that bothered her. She and Duncan were the ones involved in this fiasco, not his brother, Ian. Maybe she was annoyed because Ian was the laird of Argent Castle and very much like the one who’d thrown her people off the land in Scotland long ago. She didn’t like it that this laird was still calling all the shots. Well, she wouldn’t wait to see what he had to say. She kicked off her shoes, sat at the kitchen table, opened her laptop, and began looking for anything she could about Sal Silverman’s mate.

Meanwhile, Duncan pulled out his cell phone and called his brother. He didn’t know what she planned on doing, but he was certain that letting Sal’s mate know he was wooing another wolf could prove deadly for Shelley. Duncan wasn’t going to allow it. He noted that she’d kicked off her shoes, and he couldn’t help wanting to see her naked and in his arms again. But then his brother answered the phone, breaking into Duncan’s lustful thoughts.

“Ian,” Duncan said without preamble. “Shelley has an idea I’m not entirely satisfied with.”

She cast him an annoyed look, but he only raised his brows. Then he explained to Ian what she thought would work and why he thought it was too dangerous for Shelley to risk it. Afterward, he waited for Ian to consider the plan while he watched Shelley search for something on the Internet.

When he drew closer, he saw her looking at news releases concerning Sal Silverman.

Ian finally said, “It might work, Duncan.”

“But—”

“Hear me out. We’ll need someone from outside our pack to call Sal’s mate, Carlotta Silverman, and let her know the situation with Shelley. Otherwise, Sal will assume the Highlander who’s on the island—which is you—is associated with the pack and may decide to come after you. Maybe my mate can have her father call Carlotta, since Julia’s father is American—or at least has lived there long enough to sound mostly American. If Carlotta confronts Julia’s father about the wolf Sal’s trying to seduce, Carlotta might decide to plan a hit on Shelley for mucking everything up.”

“Aye, so that means the plan won’t work. If his mate confronts him about a wolf pack coming after him, he will try to flee. At that point, he might not care anything about what happens to Shelley or his mate, just about his own wolf skin, and go into hiding again.”

Ian didn’t say anything for several minutes. “Wait until Cearnach arrives tomorrow night. The two of you can make sure Sal doesn’t leave the island.”

“Aye,” Duncan said, but he was determined to develop a different plan. One that didn’t make Shelley the focus of a hit.

When Duncan ended the call with his brother, he considered the news stories Shelley was reading on her laptop at the kitchen table.

“What’s Sal Silverman’s mate’s name and… wait, I found it,” Shelley said.

Here she was, willing to risk her life when the leaders of his clan had sacrificed her people to improve the quality of their own lives. He wouldn’t let her be the clan’s pawn to make their lives better again.

He wanted to tell her that this wasn’t his clan’s way—making one of their women bait an angered wolf. He wasn’t having it. That’s when he realized just how he saw her. As his. His woman. His mate. Even if they weren’t mated yet. It was only a matter of time. He knew then he would never let her go. That he had to somehow forge the link between them that could never be broken.

He wasn’t used to waiting for what he wanted, either. He hadn’t planned to let Silverman get away with the theft, and he wasn’t planning for defeat as he waited for Shelley to acquiesce and say she wanted him like he wanted her.

His thoughts were in turmoil, like a man about to propose to a woman, except that wolves didn’t marry. There was no time to back out of the deal, no wedding preparations, no concern of either not showing up at the altar. All they needed was to agree to consummating sex, and the mating was a done deal.