Animal Attraction (2 page)

Thank goodness he was intent on whatever he was reading on the laptop in front of him, because he would surely think she was a freak standing there staring at him with her mouth hanging open. But good heavens, with that thick, dark hair, chiseled, hair-roughened jaw, and wide, sensual mouth, how could any woman not be mesmerized?

Abruptly realizing how idiotic she must look just standing there, Eliza finally forced her feet to move. As she neared his table, the man looked up from his laptop and she felt her breath hitch as his gaze met hers. She’d never seen eyes like his before. Not quite brown, but not really hazel, either, the only way she could think to describe them was gold. And the sexiest pair of eyes she’d ever seen. The heat from them mesmerized her, pulling her into their depths, and suddenly she found it very hard to breathe.

When he lifted a brow in question, she finally managed to break out of her trance.

“I, um, was wondering if I could steal your ketchup,” Eliza stammered, her face coloring. “We don’t have any,” she added, glancing back at her table.

The man followed the direction of her gaze, his gold eyes settling on the photographer for a moment before he gave her a smile. “Sure.”

Picking up the bottle, he held it out to her. As she reached for it, her fingers brushed his and she almost gasped as the most amazing sensation swept through her. It was as though she’d just gotten completely and thoroughly kissed. Her knees felt weak and there was a delicious little flutter in her belly that left her breathless.

It was then that she realized she hadn’t actually taken the bottle of ketchup yet. She was just standing there touching him like a doofus. She tried to cover her bizarre behavior by grabbing the bottle, but all she did was almost knock it out of his hand. They both fumbled with the thing for a moment before she finally gained control of it.

Could she be any more lame? She could already feel the heat rushing to her face.

“I think your boyfriend’s waiting for the ketchup,” he said when she continued to just stand there.

Eliza’s brow furrowed in confusion at the word “boyfriend,” but then she realized he must be referring to the photographer. She forced her attention away from the pleasant warmth that still swirled between her thighs and gave him a smile. “Oh, you mean Andy. He’s not my boyfriend. We just work together.”

One eyebrow rose. “Really.”

Oh God.
Did he think she was trying to come on to him? Crap, she really needed to go back to her table before she did something else to embarrass herself. But she couldn’t seem to make her feet move. She had a crazy urge to reach out and touch him again to see if that same sexual spark would happen. Resisting the impulse, she instead reached up to tuck her long, dark hair behind her ear. “But you’re right. He is probably waiting for the ketchup.”

Giving the man another smile, she forced herself to turn and walk back to her table. Halfway there, however, she couldn’t resist glancing over her shoulder to take one more look at him. He was regarding her with those incredible golden eyes of his, and her pulse fluttered wildly at the intensity in his gaze.

What was going on with her? She’d never experienced anything like this in her life. She had to get control of herself. Giving him one more look over her shoulder, she turned and stumbled back to her seat in a daze, clutching the bottle of ketchup in her hand.

Across from her, Andy lifted a brow as if to ask, what the hell is wrong with you? When she didn’t say anything, he prompted, “You just going to sit there and hold that all night, or can I use the ketchup?”

She blinked. “What? Oh, yeah. Sorry,” she mumbled, handing it to him.

Eliza watched as the photographer dumped ketchup on his onion rings, and then began to dig into his meal. She knew she should be doing the same, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened. Her heart was still racing as if she’d just come back from a run. Or had just finished having some really great sex. Good heavens, and all of that was from a mere brush of the fingers. She couldn’t keep herself from wondering what it would have been like if he really had kissed her.

It was a long time before Eliza could focus on her food, and by then, she realized she wasn’t really hungry anymore, at least not for food anyway.

* * * *

God, she smells incredible.
Hunter McCall watched as the girl walked back over to her table and sat down. Of course, with those big, blue eyes, full lips, and long, dark hair, she was gorgeous too, but with his werewolf senses, scent was always the first thing he noticed about a woman. And she definitely had it in that department. Hers was so arousing that just one whiff of it had his heart beating against his chest and his cock already beginning to harden.

Get a grip, dude. Another minute and you’ll be over there humping her leg.

While he tried to go back to what he’d been doing before she’d walked up and asked to borrow the ketchup, Hunter couldn’t make himself take his eyes off her for long. He couldn’t ever remember being so drawn to a woman before, especially not one he’d only exchanged half a dozen words with. But there was just something about her that was so alluring. She must not be from around here, because he definitely would have noticed her before.

He hadn’t meant to chase her off with that comment about her boyfriend. Hunter was glad the other man wasn’t. Of course, if he’d really been thinking, once he’d found out the guy wasn’t her boyfriend, he would have asked her to join him.

Hunter’s cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Picking it up from the table where he’d left it, he checked the display, then flipped it open and held it to his ear. “Luke, what’s up?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” came his brother’s reply on the other end of the line. “When were you planning on calling and telling me you’ve got a rogue werewolf on your hands?”

Hunter’s mouth tightened. How the hell had his brother found out about that? “Do you have to be so dramatic? It’s entirely possible that it’s just a normal wolf attack, you know.”

“Sure it is.” Luke’s voice was sarcastic. “You don’t believe that, and neither do I.”

Hunter sighed. His brother knew him too well, and Luke was too sharp to make a mistake about something like this. Hunter only hoped his father hadn’t seen the newspaper articles, too. He wouldn’t even bother to call and ask if Hunter needed help; he’d just show up. Hunter appreciated the close relationship he had with both his father and brother, but sometimes he got the feeling that they didn’t think he could take care of himself. Maybe it was just the pack mentality that came with being a werewolf, but his human side preferred to take care of the situation on his own.

“No, I don’t,” he said.

When he’d heard about the first attack, Hunter had been ready to assume that it had just been a regular wolf, maybe even a bear. Though it wasn’t usual for an animal to attack humans, it did happen occasionally. But then the police had called him in to take a look at the hiker’s body. One glance at the size and shape of the bite marks and he’d known that it hadn’t been a bear. And if it were a wolf, then it would have been larger than any wolf he’d ever seen. That meant it was almost certainly a werewolf. Of course, he couldn’t tell the cops that.

Werewolves usually didn’t go around killing people, if for no other reason than to avoid drawing attention to themselves. But this one was obviously different. He had killed for no apparent reason, and then left the body where it could easily be found. Hunter had hoped the rogue werewolf was just passing through the area, but the second attack had dashed that hope. The other were clearly had an agenda.

“Do you think this werewolf is there because he’s looking to challenge you for your territory?” Luke asked, intruding on his thoughts.

Hunter was silent a moment before answering. “It’s possible. Or he could have been turned recently and isn’t really in full control of himself yet. Which makes more sense since the attacks took place around the full moon. If he is new, then he probably doesn’t realize he’s even in another were’s territory.”

“What are you doing about it?”

Hunter shrugged. “Since they think it’s a wolf, the cops have asked me to come in as a consultant, but there’s not much I can do until he strikes again. I’m hoping that if I can get to the next scene soon enough, I’ll be able to track him.”

“Do you want some back-up?” his brother asked.

“Thanks, but I can handle it.”

On the other end of the line, Luke let out a sigh. “Well, if you change your mind, let me know. I’ll be on the next flight up there.”

“Sounds good,” Hunter said. His brow suddenly furrowed as he realized that the dark-haired beauty was heading toward the door with her co-worker. Damn, she had an amazing body, admiring the way her curvy hips swayed as she walked. He’d been so caught up in talking to his brother that he hadn’t realized she had even finished dinner. “Luke, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

Hunter hung up without waiting for a reply, but by the time he got his laptop put away and tossed some money down onto the table to pay for his meal, the girl and her companion were long gone.

Damn. You snooze, you lose, dude.

Chapter 2

Eliza found herself back at the diner the following morning. After checking into the hotel last night, she had called Nate Corrigan to set up a meeting with him, and had been surprised when he’d suggested the diner. As concerned as he seemed about privacy, she would have thought he’d want to meet someplace a little less public. But the diner was fine with her. She and Andy had to eat breakfast anyway.

Besides, if she were lucky, maybe that hot guy she’d borrowed the ketchup from the night before would be there again. She’d spent the better part of last night tossing and turning on her pillow dreaming about him. Though she wasn’t quite sure exactly what it was, there was just something about him that wouldn’t let her put him out of her mind. But to her disappointment, the gorgeous, golden-eyed hunk didn’t make an appearance the whole time she and Andy were having breakfast.

Though she had arranged to meet with Nate Corrigan at ten, he didn’t show up until almost ten-thirty. Or at least she thought it was Corrigan. When she had asked how she would recognize him, the man had hesitated before answering, finally saying that he would find her. Eliza had thought that was strange, but didn’t push the issue. Instead, she’d given the man a simple description, telling him she had long, dark hair and would be wearing jeans and a blue, long-sleeved top. She also gave him Andy’s description, figuring the lanky shaggy-haired photographer might be easier to spot. She must have been right because as soon as the man’s gaze settled on Andy, he headed directly for their table.

As Corrigan approached, Eliza took the opportunity to study him. Not much taller than she was, he was a nondescript man with a light beard and a mustache. His eyes darted around nervously as he made his way over to where she and Andy were sitting.

“Eliza Bradley?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously from behind the wire-rimmed glasses he wore.

She nodded. “Mr. Corrigan?”

His gaze darted to Andy before going back to her. “Is this the photographer you mentioned?”

She gave him another nod. “Yes. This is Andy Decker. Why don’t you have a seat, Mr. Corrigan, and we can talk over coffee?”

Corrigan glanced nervously around the diner. “We can’t talk here. Someone could overhear. It’d be better if we went back to my house. There’s some stuff there I want to show you anyway.”

If she had been by herself, Eliza probably wouldn’t have agreed to go back to Corrigan’s house with him, but with Andy along for back-up, she didn’t see why she shouldn’t. She looked at Andy, who shrugged. “Okay,” she told Corrigan. “We’ll follow you in our car.”

That seemed to satisfy Nate Corrigan, because he nodded. With another glance around the room, he mumbled something about waiting for them outside while they paid the check.

Rather than take them directly to his house, though, Corrigan led them on a roundabout trip through the city. Eliza could tell because they passed the diner three times before finally heading out of town. She shook her head as they followed the old pickup truck.
This guy really is paranoid.
Then again, if she believed there was a werewolf terrorizing the city of Fairbanks, she’d probably be paranoid, too.

Nate Corrigan lived in a small log cabin in the middle of nowhere. At least it seemed that way to Eliza. But then again, she’d grown up in San Francisco, so pretty much anything outside of a city was the middle of nowhere. As Corrigan unlocked the door to the cabin and led them inside, she couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t look quite as nervous now that he was back on familiar ground.

Eliza tried not to gawk as she looked around the living room, but it was almost impossible not to. Apparently, werewolves weren’t the only thing Nate Corrigan believed in. The walls were covered with photographs of every conceivable creature out of legend: Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, aliens, even what looked like a zombie. There were even some display cases along one wall containing stuff that looked like it had come out of a
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
museum.

Oh God, is that a real shrunken head?
Her gaze fell on a shriveled orb. She started to take a closer look, but then turned away, deciding she didn’t want to know.

Focusing her attention on the wall over the fireplace instead, she saw a large
X-Files
poster with the phrase “The Truth is Out There” written in bold print across the bottom.
Man, this guy is a weirdo.
She could just imagine how the conversation with him was going to go. He would probably swear that the werewolf was really a secret government agent sent to kill people who were a threat to the current administration. Then he would pull out a complete set of tinfoil hats and insist they all put them on so that the government couldn’t record their thoughts.

Why did she take this job again?
Oh yeah, a paycheck.

“Here, have a seat,” Nate said, gesturing to the threadbare couch along one wall, only to flush when he realized it was covered with so many stacks of old newspapers and magazines that there was no room to sit. Moving quickly over to the couch, he picked them up and set them down on the floor.

Though she eyed the old couch dubiously, Eliza edged around the coffee table to sit down anyway. As she did so, she glanced down at the stack of magazines on the table and saw that Nate was indeed an avid reader of
Paranormal Today
, as well as a magazine called
Strange Times
. Seeing the direction on her gaze, Nate hastily grabbed the stack of
Strange Times
off the table and gave her an apologetic look.

“These are old,” he mumbled. “I meant to throw them out, but I guess I forgot. I don’t even subscribe to
Strange Times
anymore. Not since I found
Paranormal Today
, I mean.”

Eliza saw Andy’s mouth twitch with amusement as a red-faced Nate dumped the stack of magazines on the floor beside the recliner. She’d never heard of
Strange Times
, but from the man’s embarrassment, she got the feeling that it was one of
Paranormal Today
’s competitors.

“Can I get you anything?” Nate asked as he straightened. The awkward way he said it made Eliza think he didn’t get visitors too often.

Eliza shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m fine.”

Nate looked at Andy, who shook his head. “I’m good.”

The other man nodded then his eyes went wide. “No pictures,” he said when the photographer started to pull his digital camera out from his bag.

Andy looked at Nate in surprise for a moment before he glanced at Eliza. She shrugged. If the guy didn’t want them to take pictures, there wasn’t much they could do about it. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her tape recorder.

“No tape recorders, either,” Nate said, staring at the small recorder she held as if it might jump out of her hand and bite him.

Eliza sighed, but put the tape recorder back in her purse. “Would it be okay if I took notes?”

Nate sat down in the recliner. “Yeah, sure.”

Glad that she always carried a small notebook in addition to her tape recorder, Eliza took it out of her purse, along with a ballpoint pen. “So,” she said, looking at Nate Corrigan. “You contacted the magazine saying you have proof that the recent attacks were the work of a werewolf?”

He leaned forward in the recliner, his eyes full of excitement behind his glasses. “You’ve heard about the attacks, I take it?”

She nodded. “I read about them.”

“Then you probably also know that they both took place around the time of the full moon.”

“Actually, I didn’t,” she admitted. “But go on.”

“Well,” he continued, “my gut told me it wasn’t any ordinary wolf, so I did a little investigating.”

Getting to his feet, Nate walked over to the bookcase and took down a cardboard box that had been sitting on one of the shelves. “After the first attack, I did some looking around in the area where it happened,” he said, coming over to sit back down. “There wasn’t much there, really. But I had a hunch that the werewolf might come back, so I set up a camera in one of the trees. Anyway, when I came to check it a couple of days later, there were some pictures on it. And this is what I got!”

Reaching onto the box on his lap, he took out an eight-by-ten photograph and held it out to her. Not sure what to expect, Eliza was surprised to find herself gazing down at a blurry picture of a wolf.

She lifted her gaze to Nate. “This is a picture of a wolf.”

“A werewolf,” he corrected.

Eliza gave him a dubious look. “How can you be sure it’s a werewolf?”

“Because I found tracks.” As he spoke, he took out another photo and handed it to her. “The things were huge, too. I’m talking as big as my hand. And that’s not all I found, either!” Reaching into the box, he took out a tuft of dark fur. “I found this up in a tree. Way up. Like five feet up. Which means he has to be twice the size of a normal wolf.”

She glanced down at the picture of the wolf again. “Mr. Corrigan, don’t you think if this were a werewolf, it would look more like—”

“The Hollywood version?” He nodded. “I thought so, too. But I’m telling you, this is the real deal.”

Eliza glanced at Andy to see what the photographer thought of all this. Unlike her, he seemed to be taking Nate Corrigan’s story in stride. Which made sense, she supposed. After all, Andy had been working for the magazine a lot longer than she had; he’d probably heard hundreds of freaky stories just like this.

“I’ve become something of an expert at identifying werewolves in the general population, so I’ve come up with a profile,” Nate said, drawing her attention back to him. “Now, since these are the first attacks in this area, I’m thinking he’s either just moved to Fairbanks, or was already living here and got bitten recently. You can usually spot a werewolf pretty easily when he’s in human form. His brows will be slanted and meet over the bridge of his nose. He’ll have a lot of excess body hair. His canines will be elongated. His eyes will be strangely compelling, almost mesmerizing, and women will be hopelessly drawn to him. He’ll have uncontrollable sexual urges, which also explains all the women hanging around him. And of course, he’ll be prone to violent rages. Oh yeah, and he’ll eat a lot of red meat.”

Eliza had to fight to keep from laughing.
The guy seriously believes all of this crap!
“So,” she said. “Do you have any suspects yet?”

“Not yet,” Nate said. “But I’ll keep looking. And with your help, I’m sure we’ll find him.”

Right. So, all she needed to do was be on the lookout for a hairy, horny hunk with hypnotic eyes, a unibrow, a harem of women, and a tendency for violence.

“Well, we’ll definitely keep our eye out for someone who fits that description,” she said. Putting her notebook and pen back in her purse, she got to her feet. “I think we have what we need, Mr. Corrigan. Thank you for your valuable time. I have your number, so I’ll call if we have any more questions.”

Nate stood up. “Of course. Will this be in next month’s issue, do you think?”

Eliza gave him a smile. “We’ll have to verify all the facts, of course, but ultimately, it will be up to my editor.”

He nodded. “Of course. You’re going to be in town for a while, though, right? To do some investigating, I mean.”

She nodded noncommittally. Abruptly, she remembered the photos in her hand. “May I keep these?” she asked, afraid that if she left them behind, he would follow her out to the car to give them to her.

He glanced down at the pictures. “Yeah, sure. I made plenty of copies.” He followed them to the door. “Should I call you?”

Eliza gave him another placating smile. “Actually, why don’t I call you?”

Nate didn’t look too pleased with that suggestion, but nodded his head nevertheless.

“What a wacko,” Eliza muttered to Andy as they walked to the car a moment later.

The photographer laughed. “He’s pretty tame in comparison to most of the people you usually meet doing this job.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “Tame? The guy profiles werewolves!”

Andy just laughed again. “So, what do we do now?” he asked after they got in the car. “Are you actually planning on investigating any of this, or are you just going to go ahead and write your story now?”

While Eliza knew she should probably just go ahead and write the stupid story and let the magazine’s readers draw their own conclusions, the reporter in her wouldn’t allow it. “I could, but I think I’ll go ahead and talk to the cops anyway,” she told Andy. “Who knows? There might actually be a real story here to write.”

* * * *

As they walked into the police station a little while later, Eliza wished she had a press ID saying she was really from the newspaper she claimed to be. She just hoped she’d be able to talk her way in.

To her surprise, though, once Eliza mentioned she was from a major newspaper in San Francisco, Fred Newman, the detective in charge of the investigation, was more than happy to talk to her.

“I have to admit that I’m a little surprised that a paper from San Francisco would send a reporter up here, though,” the curly-haired man said as he led her and Andy into the break room.

Eliza tried to downplay the whole thing. “Oh, animal attacks are always of interest to our readers. We’ve had our fair share of them in California as well.”