Hot Springs Werewolf Complete Series (BBW Werewolf Erotic Romance) (6 page)

I washed my hands under cold water and looked at myself in the mirror. What the hell was up with that girl? And my first instinct about Freyr was probably correct. Unless werewolf girls spent time with human men.

The night I met Talia came flashing back and I remembered her saying she had wanted to meet the new Finch. I'd forgotten until now. What had she meant? Who was the old Finch? It seemed that Millie had sent me to a town with a history for our family and everyone else was in on the joke except for me.

I finished washing up my hands while quietly resolving to dig into whatever this new Finch business meant. Red knew more than he'd told me and tomorrow at the dance I'd ask him.

After composing myself I went back out to the main dining room and took orders, delivered food and smiled at customers all the while completely ignoring the two customers at table nine. They paid for their meal and were gone about ten minutes before my shift ended. Katy and Tara didn't say anything about them because they were now talking about the dance on Saturday night and were trying to squeeze promises out of me to introduce them to Red's employees.

"Okay, fine! I'll introduce you."

Both of them grinned like they'd won the lottery and I wondered if they'd still be smiling if it turned out Jake and Fen were werewolves. Before I had a chance to ponder further, Katy clapped her hands together and declared the shift over.

Done. I made it through my first three days.

*

S
aturday flew by in a blur. A morning of writing turned into an afternoon of writing and soon it was coming up on five pm and I hadn't put any thought to what I was going to wear to the dance.

I hadn't given any thought either to all the questions that had been bubbling away on the edge of my mind. The new Finch. Millie's relationship with Red's grandfather. Werewolves. Werewolves! Why Millie hadn't told me and then sent me here uninformed. What Talia's deal was. I was definitely going to question Red tonight.

Oh, and then there was the puzzle of Red himself. That particular man had been prowling around my thoughts and the thought that he was only up the hill wasn't helping one little bit.

I managed to push him away while I cooked up a steak with a side of vegetables but then he came crashing right back as I sat at the table idly watching a quiz show on the television after I finished eating. Red in his jeans with grease on his hands. Red standing behind me...

"That's it!"

I leapt up out of my chair and turned to face the mirror.

"Harper, you are wearing grandma underwear tonight. So you won't be tempted to do anything."

I even pointed my finger at myself. It didn't work.

"Don't give me that look young lady," I told myself and headed for the shower.

*

T
he Hot Springs Historical Society Hall was almost on the edge of the city. I was following Katy's directions but they included gems like "veer left at the big green house". Finally I stopped and turned my phone on. I'd gotten in the habit of switching it off over the last few days when it became apparent Jem wasn't going to let up with the text message slaps. I found a map, worked out how to get to the hall and ignored the buzzing of the phone as a bunch of new messages arrived. I didn't need to see them. I started Boris up and headed off.

Soon I arrived at the hall (after seeing the big green house and veering left from it). The car park around the front was full but I managed to find a spot around the back so far from the hall I may as well have parked at home.

I quickly looked myself over in the rear view mirror. Sexy, not slutty. I'd lightly shaded under my eyebrows and used kohl to darken around my eyes. Jasmine from Aladdin eyes. I was wearing a blue dress and shoes I could dance in. And under all that, a pair of giant old grandma panties. Just so I wouldn't be tempted to start anything with Red Guile from next door.

Not the sexiest attire but definitely the safest.

I checked my phone as I approached the hall (ignoring the messages I could see next to Jem's name) but I didn't have anything from Katy or Tara. We were going to meet out the front. I was on time and they were nowhere to be seen. I didn't want to be standing outside like an aimless lump so I texted both of them that I was going inside.

I paid for my ticket (sold to me by a lovely old lady who was wrinkled like a raisin) and wandered inside to the entrance hall. The sound of music from behind large double doors became louder. Some country song with a lot of yee-hahs in it was just finishing up. It transitioned into a swing dancing number and I heard a few people cheer.

All around the entrance hall were sepia and black and white photos showing hard-faced men and women and skinny kids. Everyone was skinny actually. It was a different and slimmer time. I was looking at a photo of a family of thirteen (thirteen!) sitting on a stump when a round white-haired man came bustling over to me.

"You must be Harper Finch! I'm Donald Crisp. Our last names sound similar. Five letters each. Isn't that funny?"

I looked at him, nonplussed for a moment. How did so many people know who I was?

"Nice to meet you. How did you know me?"

"You have the look of a Finch about you!" He waved at me to follow him. Inside the hall I heard the music change from swing back to country and a round of yee-hah. I followed Donald down to a framed black and white photograph... of me.

The name at the bottom said Nellie Finch but it could have been a black and white of a slightly slimmer me. Her hair was the same. Her face. Even her lips.

"She was your great-grandfather's sister. Died when she was just twenty-four sadly. So very unfortunate. The resemblance is uncanny isn't it?"

Donald spoke as though he'd personally been there when she'd died. And yes, the resemblance was uncanny. But at least it explained why people might know me to be a Finch.

"Donald! Could you come help me please?"

The raisin lady from before was calling out to him. Donald shook my hand and bustled off. It was how he moved about.

I was staring at this old-time version of myself when Tara and Katy arrived and called out to me. I gave black-and-white me a smile and walked over. Katy was bursting out of her top and already getting a lot of attention from a group of men who'd just arrived. She was dressed like she was ready for swing dancing. Tara had gone with the cowgirl look complete with cowboy hat, leather boots and a checkered shirt with the top two buttons undone.

Before I had a chance to ask what exactly was going on with the differences in styles, Katy grabbed one arm, Tara the other and they hustled me through the double doors into the main hall.

"We need drinks!" Katy declared and rushed off.

"What do you think?" Tara waved her hand like she was showing a prize on a TV game-show.

The hall was half decked out in country style, complete with a few hay bales. On the other side it was 1950s swing dancing. Half the people were in zoot suits and bobby sox and the other were cowboys and cowgirls. A country yee-hah song was just finishing up, the floor filled with country and swing folk boot-scooting away together. Then it transitioned to a fast tempo swing song and suddenly there was a lot of swing dancing going on with cowboys dancing with swing girls and vice-versa.

"Years ago there were two organizers for this. One loved country and the other swing dancing. They couldn't agree on the theme and so they set up half the hall in each and went for it. People loved it and now they do it every year to raise money for the historical society."

"It's weird. And awesome."

Katy returned with cocktails that were deep red and had pink sugar coated around the rims.

"Called a fireball. You're not driving home tonight are you?"

I sipped my cocktail. Berries. Raspberry, strawberry, but not too sweet. And a hit of alcohol strong enough to make me gasp. I immediately felt it warming me from within. If I had a few of these I'd be sleeping in Boris or dancing naked through the streets of Hot Springs.

"Did she tell you the rules? Did you tell her the rules?" Katy did the mad pixie face at Tara and then turned to me.

"Men ask girls to dance. It's polite to say yes. You don't have to but this is all about meeting new people. Speaking of new people, where are the men from yesterday?"

I looked around but I didn't see Fen, Jake or Red. Not that there wasn't an abundance of hot men around the place. Everywhere you looked there was a tall handsome stranger. Most of them had gone with the cowboy look but there were a few kickass suits in there too.

Then I saw Freyr. He was watching me from across the hall with those cold blue eyes. I caught his gaze and then immediately twirled on the spot, nearly spilling my drink.

"Don't look but it's that tall guy from the cafe."

Katy surreptitiously looked over by very cleverly openly gawping. Tara did the same.

"He's cute. What's the matter with him?"

I swallowed some of my drink. How would I explain what I'd felt? That he was dangerous and I wanted to get away from him but some deep part of me found him... alluring? That I was pretty sure he was a werewolf and not a good one like Red?

"I don't know I just-"

"He's coming over," Katy interrupted me.

I froze on the spot and drained my fireball in a single giant gulp, the drink living up to its name as it burned down my throat and hit my stomach. I
felt
Freyr behind me and turned around.

Handsome. Check. Tall. Check. Those eyes. Check. That unsettling feeling. Fucking check check check.

"Care to dance, Ms. Finch?" He held out his hand to me. It was smooth and perfect. Not rough like Red's.

Katy took my glass from me and without really being in control of my movements, I took Freyr's hand and followed as he led me out on to the dance floor. The fast-tempo swing song was still playing.

"Do you know how to swing dance?"

I nodded. Wolf got my tongue.

We moved into the basic swing dance pattern. Freyr took my right hand and slipped his other around to touch my lower back. It was completely innocent but it felt wrong. We started a moment later. Rock-step kick. Rock-step kick. Twirl. I love swing dancing although I'm not that great at it. I have some moves but in swing dancing the guy leads and the girl follows.

Freyr was tall, strong and sure. He spun me and twirled me and guided me around the floor and despite my seemingly innate aversion on some level to him, I started to enjoy myself. Not that I had my voice back yet.

It was over all too quickly however when the song ended and a slow country ballad began. Dancers all around us transitioned to a gentle waltz and Freyr pulled me closer to him. I could smell his scent. He wasn't wearing any aftershave I could recognize. It was earthy and cold, like rock and dirt mixed together. Not unpleasant but not warm and spice like Red.

"Why did you come to Hot Springs?"

I looked up into his eyes to find him regarding me, his face nearly expressionless. He definitely wasn't smiling.

"I'm here to write a book."

"What about?"

"Romance. Love. Betrayal."

We continued to dance, moving slowly to the almost mournful music.

"Why are you staying on Guile's land?"

"What business is it of yours?" I found my courage. Or maybe the fireball had given a little to me.

"That land used to belong to my family. Then it was stolen with the help of a Finch."

"I'm just renting the cabin. I have no idea what you're talking about."

He stopped us on the spot and suddenly we weren't dancing.

"I don't want it to happen again". His face was stony and his voice flat. Then he smiled and nodded before walking away, leaving me in the middle of the hall with no partner.

I walked back to where Katy and Tara had been but found they were gone. Great. I looked around but didn't spot them.

Feeling like everyone was watching me, I moved away from the dance floor and towards the rear of the hall. I wanted to drink another fireball or get out of there entirely. I wanted to see Red. I moved behind some hay bales and looked up at the photos on the wall. More thin people from the past in shades of sepia or black and white. I found a photo of twelve hard-faced men holding shovels and axes. The text underneath simply listed "Guile Family" with no date. Maybe they were all werewolves?

"A good-looking bunch."

I gasped and turned around to find Red standing behind me holding a glass of white wine. It was a little incongruous with his sexy cowboy look.

"Don't sneak up on me!" I smacked him on the arm. It was like hitting an iron beam.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Katy gave me a fireball."

"And yet you still have all your clothes on. You can handle your liquor."

He sipped his white wine and looked at me over the rim of the glass. Damn, the man was sexy.

"What is with the white wine? Don't cowboys drink beer?"

"Have you seen the beer they sell here? You could use it to degrease an engine."

He finished his wine and we stood there looking at each other with the slow country ballad coming to a close as the soundtrack. I suddenly wished I wasn't wearing my giant grandma underwear. Red put his glass down on a hay bale and held out his hand to me.

"Dance with me."

It wasn't a question but not a command either. I could feel an undercurrent thrumming between us. I didn't want him to ask me any questions. As I took his rough hand I realized I wanted him to take control.

The slow country song finished and the low drums of Hey Pachuco by the Royal Crown Revue begun. Being practically the most famous swing dancing song of all time, the floor was immediately filled. Red put his arm around me and pulled me close. For an instant I thought he might kiss me but then he pulled away and we started dancing.

Swing dancing and sex.

Fast and slow. Pulling out moves from the bag of tricks. Heavy breathing. Bodies touching. Two people moving in rhythm.

The world slipped away and it was just the two of us. Red moved with grace and power, spinning me away, pulling me back. The song was short but in those few minutes I went from a low simmer to a boil. Red in front of me. His hand on my back. Red behind me, our bodies touching for a moment. A final twirl and the song ended. The world returned with a hall full of people cheering and me seeing no one but the cowboy.