Hot Springs Werewolf Complete Series (BBW Werewolf Erotic Romance) (4 page)

It was dark in the room with only the starlight illuminating and the faint yellow flecks in his eyes. He reached down beside the bed and turned a lamp on.

"You can turn into a wolf."

He nodded and then suddenly looked ashamed, a frown crossing his face.

"I'm sorry. I really thought your Aunt would have told you about us. I thought you were just keeping quiet about it."

"A wolf turned into a naked girl and then back into a wolf."

"Talia. Those were some wolves from another pack. They get drunk, decide to fuck around. You won't see them again. This is my land and you're under my protection."

I saw him glance down at my body and back to my eyes. In the near-fainting and dropping on bed, my skirt had pulled up and that epic cleavage was back. I noticed this as I noticed something else far more extraordinary: I wasn't afraid. I knew I could go walking around the cabin in the middle of the night and I'd be safe.

"Why shouldn't I leave tomorrow and never come back?"

Red stayed silent for a moment, looking down at me. I caught a flicker of that look again, the one he'd given me moments before he touched me. The look of desire.

"Maybe it's best if you go."

He bit his hip and breathed out.

"But I want you to stay."

He rubbed his hand against his jaw and I heard the faint rasp of stubble.

"Besides, I have Boris still. And Sarah at Greasy Manna can't serve chicken-fried steak all alone."

I laughed, surprising even myself and he smiled at me before his face grew grave again.

"I mean it. You're safe. Millie rented this cabin for the year so you could stay here and write. There were werewolves around when she was here and they're still here today. Apart from a few like those idiots, no harm will come to you."

"You promise?"

"I do."

He leaned down over the bed and kissed me quickly on the cheek. His delicious scent washed across me and then he was gone. A moment later the front door closed. I didn't hear his footsteps up the gravel path but then I didn't expect to.

Somehow despite everything, my nightly routine asserted itself. I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth and wiped off the little amount of make-up I had on. All the while my thoughts were looping around like seagulls at a beach. Millie knew. Millie
knew
. But she didn't tell me. Werewolves are real. And the incredibly hot neighbor who'd just made me come in front of his kitchen sink with no more than his fingers and a bite was one.

I took myself to bed, feeling like I'd never get to sleep with the churning thoughts in my head. But then the travel and the food and wine and orgasm and adrenaline all caught up with me and a deep drowse came across me like heavy sand.

I closed my eyes as I felt myself slipping into sleep and then an image of Red facing off against the wolves came to me.

"This is my property. Mine. Leave now." That's what he'd said to them. A man, talking to wolves who were actually people.

Then I realized:

He wasn't talking about the land.

He was talking about
me
.

***

B
oris was back.

I'd woken up just past nine in the morning feeling like I was still two weeks short of sleep and the first thing I saw was Boris sitting outside the window with a yellow note stuck on his steering wheel.

I put my dressing gown on, found my slippers (no more barefoot walks), collected the house keys and the spare key and went outside.

It was a note from Red.

Harper,

Boris is fixed for now. Patched up some radiator cracks and replaced two sparkplugs. He'll get you to town and back fine. Get him checked out by a mechanic if you're planning any long cross-country trips.

Which I hope you ain't.

Red.

I rubbed sleep out of my eyes and looked up the hill towards Red's house. His truck was gone. He must have kept working on Boris last night and brought him down while I was asleep.

I took in the beautiful view around me for all of two minutes before I went back inside to eat my breakfast of corn chips and chewing gum, half asleep and trying to make sense of last night.

After
making me come bent over his kitchen sink and
after
I rush out and
after
a wolf turns into a naked girl in front of us and
after
I nearly faint and he carries me to the cabin...
after
all that he goes back home, finishes up work on Boris and parks him outside?

Does the man have balls of steel or what?

I finished my delicious corn chip breakfast, zipped into the shower and got dressed, ready to head to the town. Yes, my mind my still whirling somewhat but there were more pressing concerns. Like food in my house. Bars of soap. Meeting my new employer.

I put the spare key back where it came from and moved the chair in the gazebo back into its place. As I pushed it, I looked out across the field and into the forest. Was there a wolf out there right now watching me? I shook my head and silently told myself off. I was staying and if I were staying then I couldn't be afraid. Otherwise I'd turn tail and run.

It was only once I was in Boris driving to town that I realized I really meant it. I was staying. I'd barely thought about it. Millie had rented the cabin for a year and I couldn't just throw her gift away because of... well, werewolves were a pretty good excuse but still.

I drove over a hill and Hot Springs appeared before me. A moment later my stomach rumbled.

First up - Greasy Manna, my new employer and breakfast.

*

T
he chicken-fried steak that landed on the table smelled delicious. It had been a toss-up between that or the Reggie's Red-Eye Gravy (local ham, cornbread, red-eye gravy served with a side of fries). I'd gone with the chicken-fried steak because it felt right.

My waitress was a perky blonde named Katy. Her uniform seemed about two sizes too small. It was short on the bottom and low-cut on the top and I saw more than one customer taking sideways glances.

"You let me know if you need anything else." She gave me a positively flirty wink and zipped off to serve other customers. I decided immediately we'd be friends.

I got one forkful of steak into my mouth before a slender woman in her late forties slipped into the seat across from me.

"You think you can sneak in here Harper Finch and we wouldn't know it was you?"

I hurriedly swallowed my bite and wiped my mouth with the napkin. She had to be the owner.

"You must be Sarah. Sorry, I just wanted to get some food and look at the place before I came to talk to you."

She narrowed her eyes at me and her smile disappeared. "You were deciding if this place was good enough for you to work at?"

I started to stammer something when she laughed and banged her hand on the table hard enough to make my cutlery jump.

"I'm joking with you."

"How did you know it was me?"

She looked out the front window. "I'd recognize Boris anywhere. Besides, you got the look of Finch about you. Now introduce yourself girl!"

She held out her hand to me and I shook it.

"I'm Harper. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Sarah. Owner of this here establishment. That's Katy. Reggie, my husband, is cooking, we got Tara over there and there are a few more you'll meet. You ready to start Wednesday?"

"Definitely."

"When you're done, come out the back and I'll measure you up for a uniform. Enjoy your breakfast." She winked just like Katy and left, heading through to the kitchen.

I just about had a fry in my mouth when Katy appeared next to my table and then hugged me.

"You're Harper Finch! So nice to meet you! There's a dance on Saturday night and you're coming with me. No arguments."

She waved her finger at me, for a moment looking like a tiny cross pixie.

"Okay. That would be great."

As soon as I stammered out my answer, she was gone again. I put my head down and kept my eyes focused on my breakfast lest someone else sit down across from me or hit me with a surprise hug and invitation.

I'm not shy, really. It was the whirlwind of one thing after another hitting me. Even though they were all good, I was getting pushed further and further off course. I was pondering good things (Red mostly, maybe the cabin too) when the bell above the door jingled and a man who defined tall, dark and handsome walked through the door. He was built but still lean and dressed in a black suit that had to be bespoke. It went well with his pitch-black hair. He walked in and took a booth near the door. As he sat down he looked across at me and held my gaze for a moment. I swear as he looked away, he smirked.

I went back to looking at my plate, feeling my heart thump in my chest. There was something about him and I didn't know if it was good or bad. It felt a bit like Red and my desire to both unbutton my top and button it. Like he was dangerous.

The idea that he was a werewolf whispered across my mind but I quickly squelched it. If I started believing everyone I met was a werewolf I wasn't going to last out the week here.

I finished up my spectacular breakfast and went through to the office where Sarah gave me a bunch of paperwork to take with me and bring back on Wednesday for my first shift. She also measured me up for a uniform and told me she have it ready too. I thanked her and headed out to find a supermarket.

"Excuse me miss, I believe you dropped this."

A deep voice rumbling bass. It was the tall man I'd seen earlier. Up close his hair really was pitch black. His eyes were pale blue, cold like the Arctic. He was holding a hundred dollar note in his hand.

"That's not mine."

"Are you sure?" He smiled briefly and looked up at me with those blue eyes. They'd gone from cold to twinkling. The man was gorgeous, like a fashion model.

But trying to pick up girls using a hundred dollars? What was that?

"Keep it. Try the chicken-fried steak. It's delicious."

"I'm Freyr." He was holding his hand out to me. The hundred had disappeared like a magician's trick.

"Harper."

I shook his hand but then quickly pulled away. "Sorry, I have to go. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

I walked out, feeling his eyes on me the whole way and my mind swapping two words over and over - meet and meat.

*

O
nce outside I took myself on an aimless wander to look around. And to cool off. I didn't know what was up with Hot Springs but there did seem to be an overabundance of hot men around the place. Not just hot men either. Hot men who wanted to talk to me.

I stopped outside a toy store with a shiny front window. Yup. It was still me. Curvy, not slender. Hair barely under control. Maybe back home girls like me were a dime a dozen and here I was a rarity. Maybe. Whatever it was, I wasn't complaining.

I continued on my quick aimless wander checking out the city. Found a cinema and then a row of restaurants. Perfect for dates. If I found someone to date. Red maybe.

After about half an hour I headed back to Greasy Manna, looking to see if Freyr was still there. I didn't see him inside and after a quick look up and down the street, I scurried across to Boris and jumped in.

I drove around until I found a supermarket and spent a big chunk of money on groceries. There was something quite soothing about stocking up. Choosing new soaps and new shampoo and buying spices. It was a fresh start in more ways than one (I'd brought my salt and pepper grinders from my old house but that was about it foodwise).

As I was heading back to Boris with my severely overloaded trolley, my phone started buzzing like crazy. Apparently it had worked out it was now in an area with signal and delivered all the banked-up messages.

The first was from Mom asking if I'd arrived okay. The rest were from Jem, who was still severely annoyed with me and Millie. Her messages came with a side of snark served ice-cold. Had I written the great American novel yet? Was I chained up in some hillbilly basement?

I ignored the snark and sent both of them a message that I'd arrived and I was fine. Then I turned my phone off and loaded up Boris. Mom was still working the guilt angle and I wasn't up for that today. Jem's messages came wrapped with spiky insults and I was well sick of that too.

Out of sight is out of mind... but out of contact is so much more effective. I loved both of them but in that special family way where you'd happily murder them thirty percent of the time. Right now I was far away and getting a fresh start and I didn't need text message slaps to bring me down.

Driving out of town with the sun shining and Boris loaded up with groceries, I found myself smiling.

It could have been the chicken-fried steak talking but I was starting to feel... happy.

*

I
got back to the cabin just after lunch, still full from the gigantic breakfast at Greasy Manna. I loaded up the chest freezer, filled up the refrigerator and cupboards and then took stock of everything and realized I'd forgotten to buy wine glasses.

Admit it Harper. You're going to invite Red over for dinner so you can then fuck his brains out. That's why you wanted the wine glasses.

I glanced at myself in the mirror and saw my face. Harper wasn't going to admit anything of the sort.

I kicked off my shoes and yawned. Although it was the early afternoon I still hadn't recovered from my long trip. I had a driving hangover or jetlag without the jet. I looked into my very cozy bedroom. The curtains were closed and it was just that perfect level of warmth. I told myself I should go outside, go for a walk or something but my bed was calling to me like a siren.

I laid on the bed and closed my eyes, letting out a sigh like an old person. Almost immediately an image of Red came to mind. Him leaning over me on my bed. He only kissed me last night on the cheek but I'd felt his stubble, breathed in his scent. I imagined him above me, one hand stroking my hair, the other touching my neck, his body pressed against mine.

My heart started to beat faster at the memory of him. It was all so vivid. I could see his house in my mind. His table. His smile as he sat one seat away, dipping home-made bread into delicious stew. I tried to put the night in order but my mind was on random flashback. Him standing behind me, about to touch my body. Me walking up the path, seeing him covered in grease, working on Boris. The feel of his body against mine as he carried me down the path back to my cabin.