Stranded with a Cajun Werewolf (11 page)

Gin trotted over to Burke, giving him a welcoming tail waggle. She smiled as Burke hunched over and scratched the dog behind the ears, talking softly to him as if they shared many inside jokes.

Longing surged inside her. She wanted somebody to be that happy to see
her
.

No, not just somebody. This man who’d captured a piece of her with his gentle smile and protective streak.

When he straightened, his gaze immediately swerved to hers and his face went expressionless.

Oh God. Here it comes.

“Phones are down in town.” He stood, shaking the snowflakes out of his hair and stepped back into the mudroom to hang up his coat. “And I didn’t see anyone suspicious.”

“Trying to get rid of me already? Not that I blame you. I could eat you out of oatmeal and brown sugar.” She smiled through the ache in her heart. It’d only been a few days but she felt at home here. More than anywhere she’d ever been and she didn’t want to leave this place yet. Leave him. Her gaze drifted to his lips, jaw, wide shoulders. She’d never felt so safe as she did here, with him, safely ensconced in a winter wonderland, high above the rest of the town.

“No.” He strode toward her, his eyes raking over her until she had chills. As if they shared everything, he plucked the coffee cup from her hands and took a long sip, his gaze never drifting from hers. The intimate gesture weakened her resolve.

And her knees.

She braced a hand against the counter. Her pulse spiked as he smiled down at her, a slow, seductive grin that made her lean forward. Good God, he was like a drug. Handsome as sin. Smooth as silk. And as seductive as a chocolate covered cherry.

“Just thought, maybe you’d relax a little.”

Kendall could never relax. Not until Carl stopped searching for her. And that would likely never happen. Which meant she couldn’t stay here. She’d hitchhike out of here if she had to because she couldn’t put Burke in danger.

“Tempting.” She licked her lips. “But I should probably get out of your hair. I’ve intruded long enough.”

He put the mug down and though neither of them moved, he seemed closer. “You’re not intruding.”

She wanted to believe that. He reached up, cupping her cheek in a big warm palm. She couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped her lips, but she managed to hold herself steady even though every ounce of her demanded that she lean into him. Wrap her arms around him and never let go.

He took a step back, letting his hand drop, and pushed a bag across the counter. “I got you something.”

Her heart skipped a beat and she grinned up at him like a goofy schoolgirl. “I love presents.”

She dove into the bag and pulled out a box. A cellphone box.

“I figured you needed one. Now you don’t have to worry about your old battery always dyin’ on ya.”

She stared at the box and then up at him, ready to melt at his feet. She’d never known such a thoughtful man. In that instant, she lost another piece of her heart to him.

“It’s got a local number. But you can change it to whatever you want.” The moment turned bittersweet as she considered what getting a new number meant.

“But it’s paid up for a year, so—“

She cut him off with a hug. “Thank you.” She pressed her cheek against his chest, holding him tight, knowing it’d be the last time she’d ever get to hug him. She swallowed the lump in her throat as tears sprang to her eyes.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he murmured.

His deep voice coaxed her from her melancholy. Then his words settled in and her gaze swerved to the window and then down at the cotton shirt and jeans. “Out there? In all that snow? Isn’t it a little cold?”

He chuckled. “Go look on the entry table,
petit
.” Oh, she loved when he called her that. Heart racing, she stepped past him and scurried into the foyer. She found three large bags with a logo on the side she didn’t recognize.

Excitement washed over her as she reached inside. Burke really was the most thoughtful man on the planet. How in the world was she going to repay him?

“Sweats. Jeans. A few other necessities. A couple of sweaters and a coat,” he murmured from behind her.

She whirled toward him, tears in her eyes. “Thank you sounds paltry,” she whispered.

“What are friends for?”

Friends. She sniffed. It’d been hard for her to make friends, being the tallest
werecoyote
around. How pathetic was it that Burke was the first person she honestly considered her friend?

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said, hands shoved into his pockets. He looked unsure for the first time since she’d known him.

“These are happy tears.”

“Ahh.” Relief relaxed his jaw. “Go get dressed.”

She clutched the thick coat, complete with faux fur collar, and scooped up the bags before heading to the bedroom. As she passed him, she stood on her tip toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. He didn’t move or say a word but she felt the tension in his stance.

On the way out, Burke pulled scarves and hats from the large coat closet and wrapped her up like a fleece burrito. When he pulled out a shoe box with new boots inside she made a little sound of glee. But then her gaze grew worried and she chewed her lower lip.

“Burke, this is too much.”

Which was exactly what he’d been telling himself when he’d stalked down the street from the general store and spent half an afternoon shopping for a woman he’d known less than a week. But he couldn’t let her continue walking around his cabin in jeans and his dress shirt. The image alone was enough to make him hard at the most inopportune times.

“Let’s try ‘em on,” he said, guiding her to the bench in the mudroom. The worry that had clouded her features a moment ago disappeared and was replaced by a smile that made him want to kiss her. Again.

“How did you know my sizes?” she murmured as he laced up the leather boots.

“Magic,” he replied. Truth was, he’d looked. But that sounded unromantic and intimate. He couldn’t afford to think of her in a romantic or intimate way, especially considering the item in his pocket.

When Kendall looked like a plaid polar bear, he headed for the door. “Gin, you comin?” Always ready for an adventure, the big black dog trotted toward him.

“Wait, I have an extra scarf,” she said, caressing the red fleece.

“You might need that.” Burke waved her over. She stood in the doorway, letting the heat out, seemingly transfixed by the snow.

“Wow.” The single word held every bit of awe and emotion he was feeling when he looked at her, his gaze tracing her profile.

Pulling himself from the reverie, he shook his head quickly. “You really haven’t seen snow before, have you?”

“Not like this. This is so cold. And deep.” She took a tentative step onto the deck. Burke didn’t bother with a snow shovel. He cupped her elbow and led her to the side yard.

A hundred yards or so above the cabin the hill flattened out. Flanked on two sides by a steep drop-off was the clearing where he liked to sit and ponder. The back was surrounded by trees and the front: never-ending sky. It was the place where he felt most at peace with the world, where he could survey his property and every corner of the valley below.

They made their way up to the ridge. Her head swiveled around as she took everything in.

“Watch your step,” he said, pointing to the cliffs.

She nodded and paused for a moment, taking it all in.

Enjoying her delight, he stooped to build a snowman. It’d been years since he’d done such a thing, but the construction process came back to him quickly and he made short work of packing and rolling three large snowballs. He hadn’t felt this young or carefree in centuries.

As he put the snowman together, he kept an eye on Kendall as she moseyed around the plateau, touching the trees, tasting the snowflakes falling gently from above.

He’d known she would be delighted with this place. The smallest things made her happy. And he, God help him, loved making her happy.

When at last, the three graduated balls of snow balanced one on top of the other, he called out “I think this guy needs a scarf.”

Kendall turned from petting Gin, her azure gaze taking in the snowman. A huge grin blossomed on her face and she lifted joyful eyes to his a half second before she squealed and ran into his arms. She was strong, hugging him tightly around the waist.

“I love it!” she exclaimed, untangling herself just long enough to wrap the red scarf around the snowman’s neck.

And he loved her. Crazy as it was.

It was a foreign feeling, just a memory really. And yet, so much stronger. Completely and utterly wrong. His feelings for the blonde haired beauty went against everything, every rule he’d given himself for two centuries. But he really didn’t have a choice. The heart loved who it loved, damn the consequences.

Needing to get his mind off of the tender feelings coursing through him, the desire that wouldn’t die, he changed the subject. "We haven't completed your initiation," he told her, trying to remind himself all the reasons he couldn't haul her to him right now and kiss her breathless.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." He bent down, snagged a hand full of snow, compacted it on the way back up and tossed it at her. It exploded against her shoulder and she laughed with delight.

He loved how her eyes sparkled when she was happy. They should always be sparkling.

Laughing mischievously, she quickly launched a return assault. And then it was war.

Handful after handful of snow. They lobbed each other, ducking behind fir trees and boulders.

When she used the snowman as cover he snuck up and dropped a perfect sphere of snow on her head. She sputtered, laughing as she stood and threw two snowballs at him, close range.

He brushed the residual flakes from his coat and pulled her around Frosty, into his arms. It'd been ages since he'd had this much fun. Since he'd forgotten all of his worries. He had her to thank for that.

“You warm enough?”

She nodded, wrapping her arms around him. Good grief, that felt good.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. About your suggestion that I tell my family I’ve met someone.”

“Yeah?” Her voice was muffled against his chest.

“I think it could work.”

She took a quick step back, staring up at him, her bottom lip trembling. His beast didn’t like the distance between them.

“I think we should get married.”

“Married? You…we…”

He nodded. “We’ll send word back to Florida so that Carl knows you’re off the market. I realized today that if you were to go through with your idea you’re going to need protection.

Poaching a man’s territory isn’t something he’d take lightly.”

“Poaching?” she chirped. “Territory?”

“You know what I mean.” He hoped. This was all coming out wrong.

“I—we can’t. If anyone would need protection, it’d be you. You’re innocent in all this.

This is my mess.” She paced back and forth, wearing a groove in the snow. “When you came home earlier I was going to ask you to drive me to town so I could move on.” Move on? Wow. Those words felt like a dagger to the heart. But he could see in her eyes, hear in the breathlessness of her voice that she cared for him. Otherwise, why would she be willing to run out in the middle of the snow with no car, no job, no means of outrunning the men behind her.

She chewed her lip, obviously considering his offer. Then she shook her head. “I’ve already been here too long. They’d hurt you. Or kill you. And I couldn’t live with that.” She sounded close to tears.

He took her by the shoulders and turned her toward him. “Trust me. I can take care of myself. I was—“ he thought for a moment about how to sum up all his military experience.

“Special forces.”

Her eyes widened at that. Then she stared down at her feet for a long moment. She was going to tell him no. He could feel it. “Why would you do that? We hardly know each other.”

“We know each other plenty. The important stuff anyway. And besides, the marriage will be strictly professional. Appearances only. And just long enough to suit both our needs.” Suiting his needs, however, didn’t mean an appearances only marriage. He wanted the real deal, with all the trimmings. The warm body gracing his bed. Her lips beneath his. Her legs wrapped around his hips. But he couldn’t go there.

“If Carl wants to marry you to claim your inheritance, he can’t do it if you’re already married.”

She nodded her agreement.

His heart eased. The argument was so open ended he was surprised she didn’t call him on it. But that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was keeping her safe.

He pulled a ring box from his pocket and flipped up the lid. Her gasp was all that he’d hoped. The perverse part of him would take great satisfaction at seeing his ring on her finger.

He’d waited an hour for the local jeweler to come into town to open his shop. But the look on Kendall’s face was worth it.

If she never had anything else in life, she’d have this ring.

“Burke—“ She held gloved hands to her cheeks. “It’s too much!”

“No one’s going to believe you’re married to a Deveraux if you don’t have the rock to prove it.”

Her eyes met his briefly. “You’re that rich, huh?”

He gave her his most wolfish grin. “Obscenely.”

Chapter Nine

The next day after breakfast, Kendall climbed into the truck next to Burke and they headed down the mountain. Gin hadn’t wanted to stay at home and had only laid down when Burke had promised him a T-bone.

Carnivores.

She was admittedly a little tense about the drive and the possibility of running into the Dirk brothers again. But she didn’t say anything to the handsome man who was about to become her husband.

He didn’t seem the least bit concerned about his safety. She’d thought about nothing else.

They rode in silence to the clerk’s office. After she’d sworn up and down that she didn’t want or need a wedding dress, he’d agreed to a quickie Justice of the Peace wedding. As usual, she was amazed at how fast he did things. He left no time or energy for second guessing.

Burke was the type of man who saw a problem and solved it.