Edwina and the Seven Snowed-in Scientists (6 page)

has oil on his property and is quite wealthy because if it.”

“Yeah, and I suppose now that you know how much he loves me

you’ll up the goddamn price!”

“Edwina!” he said in his most stern voice, trying to calm his inner

fury. He was very tempted to spank her right here and now, to hell

with the cold.

Simon’s howled warning came a moment before Kieran spotted

the helicopter in the distance. Unlike the others they’d heard buzzing around in the last few hours, this one was heading straight for the

crash site. Almost as if the pilot knew exactly where to find the

downed chopper. He glanced at Jake wondering how the hell they

were going to camouflage dressed in snow suits designed to make

them easier to find.

“What is it?” Edwina demanded, and she turned to look at what

they were staring at. “Oh thank God,” she said, sounding very

relieved. “Finally they’ve found us.”

“Actually,” Jake said, taking her hand and stripping off the thick

snow coat she wore, “that chopper is not searching. They seem to

40

Rachel Clark

know exactly where we went down. My guess is they’ve come to

finish the job.”

“What?” she asked in a tone that suggested Jake had lost his mind.

“Trust me, princess,” Kieran said as he dragged off his own easily

seen clothes, “this is one helicopter you want to avoid.”

Kieran made a pile of their clothing and supplies and quickly

buried them under a mound of snow. If the helicopter didn’t land,

most of their stuff was safe. If it did land, they would probably have more serious problems than a few wet supplies anyway. Edwina

looked on the verge of panic.

“I don’t believe you!” She screamed the words a moment before

she ran straight toward the approaching helicopter and started waving her arms frantically. Within moments the helicopter spotted her and

headed to her location. For one second Kieran hesitated, divided on

whether she was safe or not. If whoever sabotaged her helicopter was

really after him and Jake, then maybe finding Edwina alive would be

a way to learn where the brothers were. If she gave the right story, she may even be considered the victim.

A million other scenarios ran through his head, but only one

thought remained when he heard the noise of a rifle shot.

Kieran saw Calvin a moment before his brother grabbed Edwina,

pushed her into the snow and covered her completely. Even knowing

where they were and able to hear Edwina’s pissed off screaming, it

was difficult to see them in the snow. He turned to Jake, stripping off the rest of his clothes even as he moved. Jake had already shifted, and Kieran wasn’t far behind.

Completely white and camouflaged by the snow, Kieran prayed

that the helicopter would think they’d spotted clothes, not movement, and continue on its way.

* * * *

Edwina and the Seven Snowed-in Scientists

41

Edwina was being held facedown by something that was large,

furry and—judging by the hard rod pressing against her ass—

probably male. She tried to scream for help as the helicopter landed, but the hairy thing above her growled, and she decided, very wisely,

to shut up.

The snow quickly soaked through her thin clothes, especially now

that she was without Kieran’s snow jacket. But the warmth the

creature was generating above her felt like it came from a space

heater. It was kind of like backing up to an open fire and sticking her tits in the freezer at the same time. She giggled hysterically as the reality of her situation began to sink in—person in a helicopter trying to kill her, snow trying to give her frostbite, and strange growly

creature probably getting ready to eat her as soon as the other threats passed.

A furry warm appendage wrapped around her face and covered

her mouth. Surprise held the hysteria at bay as she finally realized that the creature above her was definitely not acting like an animal.

Unsure what that meant, and not entirely certain she hadn’t lost her

mind, she nevertheless submitted to the creature’s wishes and lay still and stayed quiet. She almost smiled at the quiet purring she could

hear and feel against her back and sincerely hoped that was a happy

sound. Hysteria tried to make a comeback as she wondered if she was

about to be suffocated by a very large family cat, but then the thing across her mouth moved to caress her cheek and she once more

realized that no matter what this thing was, it wasn’t going to harm her—not yet at least.

* * * *

Calvin lay over the top of Edwina, shielding her from discovery.

With his white fur he was completely camouflaged in the snow, but if

she didn’t stay quiet, they would be discovered, and that was

something he really, really hoped never happened. He didn’t want

42

Rachel Clark

anybody discovering evidence of shape-shifters. At the moment they

were simply the stuff of legend, and he had no wish to confirm the

wild theories.

He couldn’t help but purr as he felt Edwina stop fighting and

submit to him. He wasn’t able to control his physical reaction to her nearness, but hearing the voice of the man pursuing them as he

climbed out of the helicopter and headed their way helped to keep

him focused.

Calvin fought a quiet internal war as the man moved about the

area gathering the discarded clothing. He was pretty sure he

recognized the voice when he heard the man’s crude jokes and

laughter as he taunted Edwina. The man had obviously seen her, and

Calvin really,
really
wanted to leap up and tear the asshole apart. He had no doubt that his brothers would help him, but since they weren’t killers and chose to follow human law, he held himself very still and hoped the man would go away quickly.

The man laughed as he climbed back into the helicopter but turned

and yelled loudly enough for all in the general area to hear. “Last

chance, Eddie. Come out, come out wherever you are.” He heard

Kieran’s angry roar before Edwina’s boss jumped in fright then

clambered back into the helicopter and slammed the door closed. A

moment later the chopper lifted off the ground and headed back

toward the Mawson base.

No doubt the asshole was going to use the discarded clothing as

evidence that the survivors from the crash had succumbed to

hypothermia and had zero chance of survival. As soon as Calvin was

certain Edwina would be safe, he rolled to his feet and pulled her off the ground. Her clothing was completely soaked, her lips blue, and

her eyes wide as saucers as she got her first good look at him up

close.

* * * *

Edwina and the Seven Snowed-in Scientists

43

Edwina had no clue what to do now. The creature that stood in

front of her was like nothing she’d ever seen before and she was

beginning to wonder if this was how hypothermia began. She

remembered enough to know that hallucination was one of the early

signs. The creature leaned over, grabbed the hem of her sweater and

lifted it and all of her underclothes over her head. She hadn’t worn a bra under all the layers of clothing since landing in Antarctica so now she stood shivering hard enough to be a human jackhammer with her

ice-cold tits hanging out.

The fact that the creature then lifted her like a rag doll and

plucked her shoes from her feet was more than a little disconcerting, but when it attempted to strip her lower garments off as well she tried to protest. Buck-naked in the snow with a creature that looked like a man but wasn’t
was not
her idea of a first date.

Especially now that he seemed to have a friend. The fact that the

first creature pulled her pants, thermal leggings, and underwear off with little effort despite her thrashing did not bode well for her

immediate future. It didn’t reassure her when she noticed very human

looking, pink cocks poking out of the fur on their lower bellies. She giggled hysterically as she wondered if the ice-cold weather had done anything to shrink those massive things. Geez, she really was losing

her mind.

Creature number one lifted her easily and cradled her high against

his chest as he started to walk. She snuggled into the heat of his body, grinding her teeth against the pain as her extremities began to warm

up. She hid her face in the creature’s warm chest unwilling to think past getting warm. Whatever was about to happen was no longer in

her control, and until she had a different option, she chose to stay warm.

44

Rachel Clark

Chapter Four

Kieran watched as Calvin carried Edwina against him. At first

he’d worried that she’d slipped into hypothermia, but her fight to

retain her modesty assured him that she was still thinking, maybe not clearly—wet clothes would kill her faster—but still thinking like her normal, cantankerous self.

He turned to the snow pile and dragged out the clothes he’d

managed to hide before the helicopter landed. The outer jacket was

soaked and unusable, but the other remained dry and he moved to

tuck it around Edwina as she clung to Calvin’s furry chest. She

whispered a thank-you even though she couldn’t have a clue what was

going on.

It wasn’t every day a woman found herself surrounded by six

creatures believed to be the stuff of imagination. He gave his brothers one grunted word, “Home,” and they all turned and headed back

toward the research shack.

They ran for about an hour before Jake took Edwina from Calvin,

tucked her tightly against him, and continued their journey. Their

pace was slower than usual thanks to their passenger, but she never

once complained or questioned where they were going. Hell, if he’d

known she’d shut up at the sight of their alternate forms, he would’ve done it sooner.

With less than half an hour’s journey left to go, Jake handed

Edwina into his arms. Kieran almost stumbled at the look of complete

trust on her face. She cuddled into him, burrowing into the thickness of his fur. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he lifted her higher so he
Edwina and the Seven Snowed-in Scientists

45

wouldn’t poke her with the erection that he couldn’t seem to control

whenever she was near.

Unfortunately, he also couldn’t control his annoyance that she

hadn’t once questioned his and Jake’s whereabouts. She hadn’t even

looked for them when six intimidating yetis had surrounded her. He’d

known the woman didn’t like him, but he hadn’t expected her to just

leave him behind either.

As they finally approached the building that would be home for

probably the next seven or eight months, Kieran slowed his pace and

enjoyed holding her while he could. The moment he put her on her

feet in a warm room she was liable to kick him in the nuts, so he held onto the peace and quiet a moment longer. He wasn’t looking forward

to explaining everything to her, and he sure as hell didn’t like their chances of keeping her quiet. She had seen with her own eyes that the legendary yeti actually existed. How could she not tell the world?

He glanced down as a soft hand touched the fur on his face. She

was watching him closely, and he got a feeling she could see into his soul. He tried to shake it off, but she continued to study him, and if he’d been in human form, he would’ve made some smart-ass

comment just so she’d back off.

“Thank you, Kieran,” she said with a soft smile. He couldn’t hide

his surprise. His knees felt weak, and he struggled up the slight

incline to get to the hut.

How had she known?

* * * *

Edwina was pretty certain she’d lost her mind. How else could

you explain six abominable snowmen with fur the same color as

Kieran, Jake, and Calvin’s hair and eyes that looked exactly like

theirs? Oh, and the fact that she was completely naked in the middle

of Antarctica…

But she thanked them anyway. What the heck?

46

Rachel Clark

As they approached a small structure, the door opened and a man

dressed in heavy snow gear stepped onto the veranda and held open

his arms. The creature that her fractured mind had decided was Kieran grunted and walked past the man refusing to hand her over.

She barely noticed the change in temperature. She felt so warm

from Kieran’s furry body that it took a moment to realize he’d walked through a common area and straight into a bedroom with four cots.

Gently he lowered her onto the narrow bed, tucked the blankets

around her, and settled on the floor beside her.

A warm furry hand smoothed her hair, over and over, soothing

her, lulling her into sleep. She fought the sensation, trying to retain her consciousness, but the creature growled softly until she closed her eyes.

She fell asleep with the soft sound of contented purring filling her

mind.

* * * *

“Asleep?” Jake asked Kieran as he came into the room. Kieran

had obviously helped himself to some of their brothers’ clothing just as Jake and Calvin had. Normally they were all quite content with

nudity, but with Edwina sleeping in the next room, it seemed prudent

to wear some sort of clothing. No matter what she remembered from

their trip back, she couldn’t really be sure how she’d gotten here.