Читать книгу Wolf Tales V - Kate Douglas - Страница 9

Bay climbed off of the big GS 1200 motorcycle in front of the small diner Anton had suggested he check out, slipped his helmet off and stretched. The pop of vertebrae crackling as he arched his back sounded overly loud, but it felt so good he did it again. Just three days to cover almost three thousand miles from San Francisco to New York and he was absolutely exhausted. Still, he felt energized. He practically vibrated with a sense of expectation.

Anton’s call this morning had given Bay a destination much more specific than what he’d managed to glean out of the newspaper article and off the Internet at the hotel where he’d stayed his first night on the road.

Hell, he couldn’t even recall what state that one had been in, much less the town. The trip itself was merely a blur of miles covered, a few hours’ sleep at roadside hotels and meals best forgotten when he actually remembered to eat. He’d crossed mountains and desert, wide open plains and thick forest, changed two flat tires and gotten lost once when road construction sent him on an impatient detour, but he stood here on the sidewalk in Rome, New York with the firm belief he was only a couple hours at most from his destination.

All roads lead to Rome. Maybe, but with that thought in mind, Bay felt positive this spot was really the beginning of the final leg of his journey. He locked his helmet to the bike and stuffed his thick leather gloves into the tank bag. Then, rubbing his bare palm over his stubbly chin, he headed inside the diner. A cold wind blew but the late spring sun heated his leather riding suit. Still, it felt good to close the door on the chilly morning. He nodded to a redheaded waitress behind the counter, noted the half dozen patrons seated about the small restaurant and then grabbed a loose newspaper lying on a chair by the front door. He took a seat near the window where he could keep an eye on the bike.

It was only eleven in the morning, but he’d been riding since around four and it felt good to sit on something that didn’t vibrate. The redhead brought him strong, black coffee without being asked and handed him a menu printed on plain, white paper.

Bay smelled bacon cooking and his mouth watered, but he flashed a grin at the waitress and got an interested smile in return. He glanced over the menu and sipped at the surprisingly good coffee, then opened the newspaper. His breath literally caught in his throat when he saw the picture.

Not the same shot, but similar. A wolf with humanoid features and scraggly blond hair. There was a haunted expression on its face that wrapped a fist around Baylor’s heart and squeezed. When he finally set the cup down a minute later, his heart pounded in his chest and he was almost certain he heard a ringing in his ears.

The waitress came back, pad and pencil in hand. She glanced at the open newspaper and snorted. “Ugly sucker, isn’t she? Folks think it’s all made up, but she’s real, poor thing. Lives just an hour northeast of here, up in a little town in the mountains.”

Bay schooled his features into a look of disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? That looks like something someone did on their computer. You know, mixed a picture of a wolf and a really ugly woman…?”

The waitress shook her head. “My cousin Harry owns a little grocery up in the Adirondacks. He delivers an order twice a week to a recluse. She never comes out, but her orders are for almost nothing but meat. Lots of red meat. He leaves the box of groceries by the door, takes his money from under the doormat and leaves. She never lets him come inside to deliver it proper. He said he caught a glimpse of her through the blinds one time and just about screamed like a schoolgirl, she scared him that bad.”

Bay shook his head. “Poor thing. Can you imagine being that deformed? Trying to live in a society that reveres beauty?”

The waitress nodded and shook her long red hair back over her shoulder in an obviously flirtatious manner. “Nope. Can’t imagine it.” She smiled brightly with a lot more than mere interest in his order. “Anything I can get for you?”

That certainly sounded like a loaded question.

Bay pointed at the special typed at the top of the page. Three eggs, fried potatoes, sausage, bacon, and biscuits. Thank goodness cholesterol didn’t appear to be a problem for Chanku.

“Another buck and you can get a slab of fried steak with that. A man your size must need to eat a lot to keep up his strength…” She smiled as her comment trailed off.

Bay smiled back at her and winked. “Sounds good. I appreciate the suggestion. Thank you. I like mine rare.”

He watched her walk away and almost laughed at the pronounced sway to her ass. Jake was right, though. Flirt a little, learn a lot. When she brought his breakfast a few minutes later, Bay got the name of the town where Cousin Harry owned the local grocery.

Ulrich looked at the card Anton had given him, then at the map he’d spread out across the steering wheel. The past few days felt like a prolonged drug trip…the downed plane and Keisha’s birth of a perfect little baby girl, Tia and Luc’s wedding, Xandi’s precipitous labor and delivery of a very tiny but healthy baby boy, Baylor heading off in search of the mysterious wolf woman, and now this.

How the hell he’d let Anton talk him into hunting down a woman who might be Chanku was beyond him. Actually, Ulrich wondered if Camille’s spirit had a hand in the process. He hadn’t thought of that sexual encounter with the other couple for years, but remembering how Camille had loved being with another woman had finally convinced him to look for this Millie West and see if she really was Chanku.

He was tired. Damn it all, at sixty-four he was ready to think about rocking chairs and puttering in the garden, not hunting down a sexy woman who might just be a shapeshifter.

So why did his cock suddenly swell and his heart begin to race when he thought of the slim blonde? The photo Anton had given him felt seared into his brain, the woman’s image a polar opposite to his one, true love, Camille, but fascinating just the same.

Ulrich ignored his body and concentrated on the directions, found the High Mountain wolf sanctuary marked in pen and folded up the map. He had to stop obsessing over his concerns, quit projecting a future that existed purely in his imagination. He’d go and check out the woman, see if she was the real thing, and then he’d figure out what to do.

It took him another twenty minutes to find the right road, ten more minutes to make it to the sanctuary, and at least two seconds to fall in lust.

The minute Ulrich stepped through the door into the sanctuary office, the woman from the photograph lifted her head from whatever had held her attention and smiled at him. Her scent was pure wolf. Powerful, an aphrodisiac all on its own. It took Ulrich a moment to get his bearings, to catch his breath and rediscover the ability to form a complete sentence.

He cleared his throat, giving himself more time. “I’m looking for Millie West.”

Her smile widened. White teeth, perfect cheekbones, long blond hair streaked with gray…and amber eyes. He felt her smile all the way to his balls.

“I’m Millie. Can I help you?”

Oh shit. Could she ever. He held out his hand and noticed it was shaking. Concentrated on holding it steady. “I’m Ulrich Mason. Anton Cheval asked me to stop in and see how things were going since the new board of directors took over. He wanted to make sure you had everything you need.”

Millie stood up. She was taller than Camille, even taller than he’d imagined from her photo. Ulrich guessed Millie stood about five seven, with a slim, athletic build, but part of her height could have come from the well-worn roper style cowboy boots on her feet. Her faded blue jeans fit her like a second skin and she wore a pale yellow cotton blouse with long sleeves rolled back above her wrists.

She held out her hand and Ulrich wrapped his fingers around hers. The scent of her body reached out to him, subtle yet demanding. The moment they touched, he felt the connection race along his arm, a sense of destiny no doubt only he experienced.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, releasing his hand and smiling naturally, as if her touch hadn’t just rocked his world. “Mr. Cheval called yesterday and said to expect you. I’ve got the books ready. We can tour the compound either before or after you look at the records.”

“I drove all the way out here from San Francisco. I think I’ve been sitting long enough.” Ulrich laughed, a low chuckle meant to put her at ease. “If you have a moment, can we walk through the compound first? I’d love to see, firsthand, how you have everything set up.”

“Of course.” She walked to the door and opened it, looked out and called to a young man working nearby. “Seth, I have to be out of the office for a bit. Can you keep an eye on things, answer the phone if anyone calls?”

“Yes, Ms. West.” The kid sort of slouched into the office, but he nodded politely to Ulrich and went straight to a pile of papers where he started sorting and filing. Millie watched him a moment, then led Ulrich outside.

“Seth has just gotten off probation after the problems here with Tinker McClintock and Lisa Quinn. You’ve heard about that?”

Ulrich nodded. So that was the young man who’d almost gotten Luc and Tia killed. He felt the hackles rise along the back of his neck and quickly suppressed the urge to attack. Okay, so the kid had thought he was saving wolves, not sending them to be slaughtered by wealthy hunters, but that didn’t excuse him. Obviously, Millie had been able to forgive.

Ulrich wondered if he had that in him, that ability to forgive. As angry as he felt toward Seth, a young man he’d never met before today, Ulrich doubted forgiveness was one of his virtues. Probably another sign he was getting old and crotchety. Damn it all, where had the years gone?

Putting Seth out of his mind, Ulrich followed Millie, walking just far enough behind her to enjoy the gentle sway of her slim hips as she headed across the parking lot toward a shaded area of holding pens.

If anyone had asked him, later, what he’d gleaned from the tour of the compound, Ulrich would most likely have drawn a blank. Not because he wasn’t paying attention…no, it was more than that. So much more.

His senses were fully engaged. He smelled the pines and the cedar and the sun-heated granite, the musky scent of wolves and the acrid odor of unwashed bodies as he passed the workmen cleaning pens and caring for the wolves.

There was the soft sweep of wind in the trees, the harsh call of a jay, the musical trill of a small stream bordering their trail, and about it all the scent of wild wolves, the echoes of their grunts and growls and heavy breathing.

Millie’s scent mingled with the musky aroma of their wild brethren. Ulrich inhaled, felt his nostrils flare as his lungs expanded, and realized he was grinning like the village idiot.

Millie led him deeper into the woods, carrying on an in-depth discussion of the various types of wolves housed here, the strength of the pens, the quality of care. Ulrich heard her words as if she stood at the bottom of a deep well and he at the top, as though her voice surrounded him but the language, the meaning of what she said, remained a mystery.

He felt the sound of her voice, a vibration akin to fingers tapping out a tune on the low notes of a piano. Musical, with a slight drawl borne of the country and life among men. There was nothing overtly feminine about her, yet she screamed female with every step, every word. Screamed it loud enough that his cock now fought the confines of the denim jeans he wore, trapped as it was along his left inner thigh.

He wanted to shift. Wanted to run beside her and howl his need, take her hard and fast in the dark woods, his teeth nipping at her shoulder, his nails scraping her fur-covered shoulders.

Except he didn’t know. Couldn’t really tell if it was the scent of the wolf in Millie or his own frustration. The proximity of so many caged wolves confused him. Did the alluring perfume his sensitive nostrils caught really come from the woman? Maybe it was his own wishful thinking, the hope that he would some day, once again, find a mate to ease the aching loneliness he’d lived with since Camille’s death.

There’d been women. Lots of women, and just as many men. No Chanku was capable of celibacy. Not with a libido as powerful as theirs, needs so strong. Needs…had his life always been one of needs?

The sound of their boots tramping along the edge of the service road was muffled in new grass and rain-dampened earth. Millie talked with her hands emphasizing each word as she explained the habits of the various wolves in each fenced compound they passed.

Ulrich smiled, watching her fingers, hearing her voice, feeling something unravel deep inside himself. He tried to ask questions apropos to Millie’s comments, but knew he’d failed miserably when she turned around with her hands planted firmly on her hips, and burst into laughter.

“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?”

“Excuse me?” He felt his cheeks grow hot and knew he was blushing. “Of course I am.”

“Then what did I just tell you about the pack in that compound?” She pointed toward a heavy chain-link fence where three unusually small wolves waited in the shadows.

“You said…um…” He did the one thing he hoped would save his sorry ass. Ulrich grinned and held his hands out in surrender. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Millie didn’t appear to take offense. “That our breeding program appears successful. These are Ethiopian wolves, one of the rarest lupine species. The bitch is pregnant. They’re part of our rescue program. There’s been a rabies outbreak among Ethiopian wolves in the wild and we’re hoping to keep the species alive through programs like ours.”

“I thought they looked smaller than the timber wolves. They’re more like coyotes.”

Millie laughed. “Don’t let them hear you say that! They’d be highly insulted.” She glanced at her watch. “I had no idea how long I’ve been dragging you around.” When she looked up at Ulrich and smiled, he felt her warmth. “It’s almost one.”

“No wonder I’m starving.” As if on cue, Ulrich’s stomach growled. “Is there a town nearby where I can find a sandwich?”

“The nearest town is at least a half hour’s drive up the road.” She stared at him for a long heartbeat, then appeared to come to a decision. “Why don’t you just come with me and I’ll fix something for both of us. I live just over the hill.”

Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer. A dark stain spread over her high cheekbones, and then Millie turned away and started back down the road the way they’d come. Her back was ramrod straight and Ulrich wished he could see into her mind. Obviously something about her casual invitation upset her.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Ulrich said, but inside, he was singing. Her scent rose to meet him, luring him forward, and there was no confusion now between her and the wolves.

Millie West was every bit as aroused as Ulrich.

Why now? She was an old woman, for crying out loud. Much too old to feel this amazing attraction to a man, though Ulrich Mason was, without any doubt, the sexiest male she’d ever seen. His interest in her was almost palpable, and when she’d turned around and actually looked at him, it had taken all her willpower not to stare at the sizeable bulge running down the inside seam of his left pants leg.

He must be hung like a bull and he was obviously hard as a post. Hard for her? She’d laugh if it wasn’t so pathetic. Here she was, old enough to get a senior citizen discount in most places and, unless she counted the well-used collection of vibrators in the table beside her bed, she’d not had sex since 1970.

Tell that to your pussy.

Damn. She was so wet she prayed the dampness between her legs wouldn’t leak through her jeans. How embarrassing would that be? The denim rubbed her swollen clit through her sopping panties with every step she took, and her breasts felt unusually restrained within her plain cotton bra. She wondered if the batteries in the new vibrator she’d ordered online were fresh, and almost laughed aloud.

What kind of woman took a gorgeous stranger home with her and worried about batteries?

A woman who’d learned her lesson the hard way.

That excuse didn’t work anymore. She was fifty-six years old and pregnancy wasn’t even an option, much less a worry. So what if she wanted sex with a man?

More important, what if he wanted sex with her?

She felt a low throb in the pit of her belly and took a deep breath. Her libido had caused trouble all her life—it was something her fanatically religious uncle had tried unsuccessfully to beat out of her.

She still remembered the spankings that had lasted well into her teen years, spankings requiring her bare bottom and the flat of her uncle’s broad hand. By the time she was twelve or thirteen, she’d realized the punishment had taken on an overtly sexual tone, something that disgusted her even now.

For all his prayers and rules, her uncle had taken perverse pleasure in punishing her. She hadn’t understood everything that was going on, but she’d known it was wrong. In their rural community, though, where his family name was among the first settlers, she’d had no one to turn to.

Thank goodness there’d always been the wolves. Why they fascinated her so, Millie would never know, but she’d sensed a link between herself and the animals long before the sanctuary had grown so large, long before the property that had been her only home had become the property of the High Mountain nonprofit organization. She’d been alone, except for the wolves.

There’d been one man. One sexy, long-legged, itinerant cowboy. He’d not lingered time enough for her to fall in love with him, but he’d certainly managed to change her life.

She wouldn’t think about that now. Couldn’t. Not with Ulrich Mason walking silently behind her, his big body still straight and strong in spite of his snow-white hair. He was a handsome man, ageless in the way of the very fit, with amazing eyes. Dark gold. No, she thought. Amber. Similar to her own, but where her eyes were nothing special, his sparkled with an inner fire.

She wished she’d known him when he was young.

Wished she’d met him when she was younger, but it was too late for regrets. She slowed her pace at the top of a small rise. The sanctuary and offices lay to her right, but she took the trail to the left. It followed a narrow creek that gurgled and raced beside them.

“You live close enough to walk to work?” His voice was just over her shoulder. His nearness startled her so that she stopped and turned to reply.

“Every morning. It’s a challenge in the winter, but I use snowshoes then.” She took a deep breath. “I love the woods. I especially love the wolves. I’ve always felt a kinship with them, a sense that we practically communicate on some level.”

Ulrich’s hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. Millie stopped in midstride. “Maybe you do,” he said. “Maybe you do.”

She cleared her throat, felt her heart thudding in her chest, the hot coil of desire coursing from breasts to belly to sex. She thought of the dreams, the sense when she awakened of having run through the woods on four legs, the ache in her muscles, the tightness in her legs. The need, the overwhelming desire that had her reaching for her favorite vibrator. Such a cliché, the older woman alone with nothing more than her battery operated boyfriend, but it had kept her sane all these years.

“I wish,” she said, and meant it. Then Millie turned and walked away from Ulrich’s touch, well aware he followed closely behind her.

The cabin was small and neat, a square log structure nestled in the deep forest, surrounded by ponderosa pine, thick cedar, and old growth Douglas fir. Ulrich took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of centuries, the damp mix of rotting leaves and fresh grass, pine resin and wet earth that tickled his nostrils with ancient memories. The forest brought out the wild side of his nature and the wolf clamored silently for freedom. He would have to run at some point during this visit.

He wished he could run with Millie beside him, but the sense of her wasn’t quite as strong now. Of course, she’d put more distance between them, opening the door and stepping inside the cabin while he stood outside and inhaled the fresh air.

Feeling somewhat sheepish, Ulrich followed her indoors. The interior was as neat as the outside. Bare logs aged to dark gold formed the walls, and the plank floor was covered with hand-woven rugs. The kitchen had obviously been added more recently, and a small room tucked behind the woodstove was most likely the bathroom.

Tiny, immaculate, serviceable…with comfortable, well-worn furniture and beautiful watercolors decorating the walls. “Are these yours?” Ulrich walked across the main room and studied a painting on the far side. A pride of wolves led by what was obviously the alpha bitch. She stood beside her mate, but her eyes were alive and seemed to be watching Ulrich, not the large wolf beside her.

Millie moved closer to Ulrich and nodded. “Yes. I paint them on my days off. They’re such wonderful subjects.”

“You have a lot of talent. This is beautiful.”

She dipped her chin and blushed, then abruptly turned away. “I’ve got some leftover roast from last night. I’ll make us each a sandwich. I hope you like your meat rare.”

It was more than rare. It was still blood red, exactly the way Ulrich liked it when he couldn’t just eat it raw. She’d cooked it the way every other Chanku preferred their meat when they dined in public. He watched while Millie sliced the beef thin and piled it high on sliced sourdough French bread with lots of horseradish and mustard. She moved with an economy and grace he admired.

They sat close at a small café-style table obviously designed for one person, not two. Conversation came easily. They talked a bit about the sanctuary, the changes Millie hoped to make over the coming year, her hopes for expanding into some of the unused property.

When their plates were clean, though, they found there was nothing else to say. Ulrich reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Thank you. That was delicious. I know it’s rude to eat and run off, but I’m going to need to head back to town, find a place to stay. I came straight to the sanctuary without finding a room first, once I realized how close I was. We can go over the books tomorrow, if that’s okay with you.”

Millie glanced down at their hands, his larger one covering hers entirely, then up at Ulrich. He saw questions in her amber eyes. Even more, he saw her need, felt her powerful desire for his touch. He inhaled and scented the sweet perfume of her arousal.

Silently placing his heart in Millie West’s hands, Ulrich leaned across the small oak table and softly pressed his lips against hers. Her quick, indrawn breath told him she’d not expected this, but her lips softened, parted. He felt her sigh against his mouth.

He pulled away and cocked an eyebrow in her direction. She blushed and looked down at their hands. “You have no idea what you’re asking,” she said.

“Ah, I believe I do.” He cupped her cheek in his palm and forced her to look at him. “You’re a beautiful woman, Millie West. You’re funny and smart and very sexy, and your heart is good.”

She shook her head. “How can you say that? You hardly know me.”

Ulrich raked his thumb along her cheekbone. “I know you’ve cared for the wolves as if they were your children. You’ve given Seth an extra chance at redemption when most people, including me, would turn him away. The sanctuary is well run, the animals healthy and content, your employees look at you as if you hold the sun and the moon in your hands and you’ve done all of this in just a matter of weeks since the problems with the last manager. What more do I need to know?”

She turned away. Her cheek still rested against the curve of his palm. Ulrich felt her sigh. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound emerged. Finally she backed away, far enough to put herself out of his grasp, and looked him straight in the eye. “You need to know that I’m a freak, Ulrich Mason. I’m fifty-six years old and I’ve not been with a man for over thirty-six years.” She stood up and pushed the chair back, then turned around and wrapped her arms around her slim waist. “I’m not normal, Ulrich. There’s something about me that’s so strange, I’ll never have a normal relationship, never be able to…”

He circled the table and caught her up in his arms. She fought him at first, but he felt her embarrassment and knew her heart wasn’t in the struggle. Her resistance ended on a sigh as she pressed her face against his chest, body trembling, breath catching in her throat. He felt her shoulders shake and knew she cried softly, silently, in his arms.

He held her close, rubbed her back slowly and smiled into her blond hair while she quietly brought her emotions back under control.

Standing there, with Millie pressed close against him, Ulrich felt the lust that had been burning in him all morning long suddenly shift and subside. His heart seemed to swell in his chest, his eyes blurred with tears. Somehow, over the course of the past few hours, pieces of his life that had long been sundered appeared to have found their way back to form a tenuous whole.

Unbelievable, he thought, rubbing his lips softly against Millie’s thick crown of hair. After so many years as the pack’s lone wolf, Ulrich Mason knew he’d suddenly, irrevocably, fallen in love.