There were things I knew now with a clarity I doubted I would ever feel again in my life. I was a shifter. A dragon. And I could fly. Associated giddiness bubbled inside of me as I pulled on a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt. Once I was dressed again, I went to Tilly’s room, ready to talk, ready to figure out how to get through to her.
I pushed open her bedroom door, but once again, she was gone.Damn it.
Not willing to wait until she made her way home, I went to get the phone I’d left plugged into its charger on the counter and looked down when the screen lit up with a notification banner.
I had a message from Esther.
We need to see you at the house right away. Come through the woods.
That was all there was. I assumed the explanation would be forthcoming upon my arrival. Maybe they had something in mind that would help with Tilly. They knew about this stuff and had years and years of experience on me. Besides, at least this time I was walking through the woods with clothes on. So, there was that.
The moon was bright enough I didn’t really need a flashlight, but I brought one anyway. Better safe than sorry. I stayed to the edge of the forest again and only jumped a few feet in the air when a gruff voice rasped through the darkness and the man himself—the scruffy lumberjack looking guy I’d shoved off of the dock—stepped out into my path. I’d never followed it far enough to get to Esther’s house before this had happened.
I should’ve brought my Michael Myers knife from the kitchen, but I held up the flashlight defensively, confident I could do some damage if he was inclined toward revenge.
He looked me up and down. I shivered, my skin burning where his gaze touched. It was as if he was evaluating me for the first time, and strangely, as if I was evaluating him. In a way I didn’t like. Almost as if my body was telling me to picture him without his faded flannel clothes and his unkempt appearance, that there was an attractive man beneath all of that. But my mind was still being reasonable, trying to warn me.Uh, hello. Danger, danger. This guy is probably pissed at you, be careful.
Which made no sense at all. When it came to men, I was all brain, and no body.
Well, that didn’t sound right. I generally listened to my brain, not my libido.
There, that was better.
Whatever, I couldn’t actually remember a man making me feel like I wanted to check him outreallyslowly, outside of maybe celebrities. Was my libido finally kicking in at my ripe old age?
Nah. It had to be a result of the full moon. It couldn’t be that I found this barbarian anything but off-putting.
“Have you seen anything weird back here?” His voice was the kind of rasp that could’ve been sexy if he wasn’t so odd.
“Only a weird guy who jumps out of the woods to scare unsuspecting walkers.” I smiled and tilted my head, trying to sound casual and not like my nerves were rattled, and utterly failing.
He shook his head and grumbled in my direction. “Useless women,” he muttered. He said a bit more, but that was all I caught.
I hadn’t heard it all, but I’d heard enough. “Maybe I’m useless or maybe not. But you're a creepy woods guy. Sorry if I’m not in the mood for a chat.”
I flounced off. Literally, flipped my hair over my shoulder and put a bounce in my step as I left him standing there. And to his credit, he didn’t follow me, but the burn of his angry glare itched on my back.
“I might be creepy, but you’re just some bored housewife,” he called after me. He madehousewife, which I was not, sound like an insult. But I knew plenty of women who loved being a homemaker. Hardly any of them were bored.
I stopped and cocked one hip out with more sass than I’d ever used in my life. “Better than being a mannerless mountain man badly in need of a haircut and a shave.” Although, he made rugged look better than I wanted to admit. And I was determined to have the last word, so I shuffled away.
Shocker, I couldn’t even do that right. Within seconds, I stumbled, caught my foot in something, maybe a stray tree branch, and everything went to hell. I tumbled ass over head, and finally landed on my back, staring up at the dark trees. In hindsight, I should’ve used the flashlight. A little late, but now I did. Once I sat up, I turned the light downward, wincing when I spotted the situation I’d gotten myself into.
Not a tree branch. I’d stepped into a hole, turned my ankle and went down. Like a klutz. A clod. A pathetic, helpless woman who was just getting used to having feet. I really wanted to stand bravely now and pretend the jerk hadn’t just witnessed my embarrassment, but there was no denying it, I could still feel the burn of his gaze on me, and I was clearly a mess.
My ankle throbbed, and when I pulled it out of the hole, agony darted through it like I’d stabbed it with the forgotten kitchen knife. That’s how badly it hurt. I hissed in a breath and winced. “Dammit.”
Leaves crunched between us as bad-natured Davy Crockett came back. Without a word, and also without the slightest bit of strain, he picked me up, and a little shriek escaped my lips before I realized he was being gentle and trying to help. Actually, the way he did it was so natural, like men carried me everywhere all the time, like he carried women places all the time. He’d lifted me like I was a small child, and he was an action hero in a movie. “Where were you headed?” His gruff voice sounded just a bit softer.
“To Esther Hallowood’s house.” For a second, I held myself stiffly in his arms, not sure what he’d say, not sure what he'd do.
“That’s not far; I’ll get you there.” And there was no anger, no annoyance in his voice, just acceptance.
Which was…weird, right?
I didn’t breathe him in. Barely inhaled at all. Except when I accidentally did, and somehow, he smelled divine.Smelled divine?Since when do I notice people’s smells?But there was no mistaking it, he did smell good. Amazing even.
It had something to do with being a shifter, no denying that, and now some of the weird sniffing behaviors the ladies had done made sense. I’d have to ask them about why he smelled so good, when I had the chance. I needed a notebook to write down all my questions and stuff like this.
