There was no time. Panic sealed her throat. She had a flash memory of the afternoon shed idiotically considered suicide. Shed never meant it. Shed just been so angry with herselfbeing stood up at her wedding had been a last straw in a long history of humiliating, embarrassing screwups. But geesh. At her most stupid, shed never really wanted to die. And for sure she didnt want to die all alone, torn to shreds in the middle of the north woods by a pack of wolves.
It was positively an uphill, difficult and darn near insurmountable job to earn her own self-respect. But she wanted a chance. Come on, God. Im trying so hard, but I need a little time. How about a bargain. You get me out of this, and Ill never mess up again as long as I live. Ill be so good youll be astounded. Ill be so good that Ill be astounded....
The white wolf lifted his head and howled.
The sound echoed in the lonely woods like a cry from her own heart. She swallowed on a shattered breath. Tears welled, unwanted nuisance tears, blurring her vision when she desperately needed to see.
The wolves circled closer. The word run screamed through her mind, but it was easier to think than act. She could hardly run hellbent-for-leather wearing cross-country skis. There were trees all over the place, hardwoods as well as heavily branched pines, but her skis made climbing any of them just as impossible. There had to be a way out of this. She just had to think.
Stand still. Dont run. Dont movejust stand real still.
She heard the human voice. A masculine voice, but just then she wasnt picky. One chord of that low masculine baritone and relief sang through her pulse like an opera aria. She whirled around. Nothingnot death, bombs or taxescould have stopped her from aiming for that voice. Oh, God, Im so glad youre here
For cripes sakes, listen to me! Dont move!
Two
Mary Ellen obediently froze. Her heart even started beating again. She recognized the giant from the restaurant, although she barely looked at him. Her eyes glued straight on the gun he was carrying. The nice, long, big gun. She wasnt going to die. The wolves werent going to get her. He had a gun. Shoot em, for petes sake!
Now, just take it easy. Im pretty sure we dont need to go that far.
His slow, lazy baritone took her back. In case you havent noticed personally, she thought hed have to be myopic and deaf not to notice I think those wolves are planning to have me for lunch.
Yeah, I can see theyre not too happy with you. He glanced at the wolves, then back at her. Try to see it from their viewpoint. A human is their worst enemy. And you didnt just barge into their territory. You wandered within twenty-five yards from a nest of their pups. Theyre just trying to protect their young.
Conceivably he thought she needed this information. She waved her hand in front of his face. One of them seemed to be under the illusion they had time for a casual chitchat. It wasnt her. Im sorry I upset them. Youd never believe how sorry. If I could disappear into thin air, trust me, Id be glad to. But that not being an option, Id sure appreciate it if youd at least aim that gun
Im afraid it isnt the kind of weapon you think it is. Its just a tranquilizing gun. No bullets. And yeah, I can shoot them if I have to, but its a lousy choice. The sedative would put them out for several hours. Theyd be prey to the elements, other animals, and theyd be affected by the drug for a couple of days. Just relax, okay? They arent doing anything but growling at you. Theyre entitled to give you a lecture. You screwed up.
Nothing new about that. Its the story of my life, she muttered.
Pardon?
Nothing. I cant think. Geezle beezle, theyre still circling!
I know. And I know youre scared, but youre staying real cool. Im proud of you. Most men would have lost it by now, but not you. Youre holding it together just fine. Were gonna keep talking, okay? And while were talking, I want you to toe the catch on your skis. Real slow, real careful, see if you can get them off. Just forget the wolves. Look at me, straight at me.
He had everything wrong. She wasnt staying cool; she was a pinch away from totally losing it, and positively shed done nothing to make the strangeror anyone elseproud of her. Yet she looked straight at him, because hed asked her. And she managed to awkwardly, clumsily toe off her skis, because hed asked her to do that, too. The man had a Pied Piper voicethroaty and husky and hypnotizingly seductive. He could probably coax a nun to strip with that wickedly sexy voice, but that hardly explained why she obeyed him. There was only one possible reason why she did what he asked.
Shed lost her mind.
Circumstantial evidence wasnt a fair way to judge a man, but she could hardly fail to notice clues that he wasnt necessarily operating with a full deck. The wolves were snarling and circling and charging around. He was as calm as a spring breeze. Mary Ellen took that as a teensy hint that he needed a reality check. For reasons she couldnt imagine, the front of his parka and jeans were hard-packed with snow. The hood was thrown back, revealing a shaggy, disheveled pelt of jet black hair. It looked as if his hair was decorated with dry leaves, which made no sense. Making even less sense, he was unzipping his parka as he slowly walked toward her.
Shed instinctively trusted him in the restaurant, instinctively sensed that he wasnt the kind of man to prey on a vulnerable woman. Then and now, she should have remembered that her judgment about men wasnt worth a Las Vegas dollar. Obviously shed been mistaken about the intelligence in his shrewd blue eyes. No way he could be too bright when it seemed to have missed his notice entirely that her life was in imminent danger. Hells bells, so was his. The wolves sounded restless and hungry and mean and ferocious. And her damn fool of a giant was peeling off his jacket in freezing-lung temperatures as if he had nothing better to do.
What I want you to do, he said gently, is put on my coat.
You want me to wear your coat?
And my muffler and gloves.
And your muffler and gloves, she echoed. Vaguely she wondered if shed landed in the twilight zone. She had experience, extensive experience, in embarrassing messes. Coping with situations that no sane woman would normally land herself in was really her forte. Somehow, though, nothing had prepared her for holding a witless conversation with a madman while surrounded by wolves.
They know my scent.
Swell.
Her deadpan comment was hardly intended to arouse his sense of humor, yet his mouth curved in the crack of a grin. Im getting the definite feeling wed better backtrack a few yards. My name is Steve. Steve Rawlings. And I guess I just assumed you knew who I was. My being around has raised a lot of talk in town.
Im new in Eagle Falls. And not exactly on the chitchat gossip circuit.
He nodded. So you didnt know.... These wolves are my problem. My job. By profession Im an ethologist. I study and work with animals like wolves, and specifically Im working with this pack. Itd be my responsibility if anyone was hurt because of them, and Im for sure not going to let anything happen to you, okay? He gave her a moment to take in that information, then calmly went on. The reason I want you to wear my coat is that it has my scent. They know me. In fact Ive known White Wolf, the alpha male, since he was a pup. I dont want to kid youwere in dicey waters. Wolves arent dogstheyre wild animals. Its dangerous to trust any wild animal. But I think weve got a great chance of this working.
Hed reached her by then. The blasted man was so tall that she had to tilt her face to meet his eyes. If youre trying to be reassuring, I hate to tell you, but youre failing big time. Im real close to throwing up.
Nah. Youre staying real cool, real calm. I knew you would. When I saw you in the restaurant, I thought to myself, now theres a lady who wouldnt lose it in a crisisno, no, quit looking at them. Look at me. Take it easy. Youre doing just fine. Although
Although? Momentarily she couldnt help feeling distracted. She wasnt the stay-cool type. She reliably fell apart in any crisis. Now was no differentshe was scared enough to lose her cookies. How he could have formed such a mistakenly inaccurate impression of her was downright confounding.
Although lazy, easy humor glinted in his eyes again itd sure help a lot if you could loosen that death grip youve got on your ski poles.
She glanced down. She had no idea her fists were glued to her ski poles until he started peeling her gloved hands loose. Once that was accomplished, the ski poles dropped in the snow. Then, with the gun anchored between his knees, he slowly fitted her arms into his parka. The size of his jacket was big enough to fit over her own, but stuffing her into the second coat was a cumbersome process. She couldnt help him. Her stomach was too busy doing flip-flops.
Her response to his closeness wasnt sexual. It couldnt be. Sex was the last thing on her mind, not just because of the situation, but just because. Other women seemed to feel an automatic jet pull near a virile male hunk. Not her. Her hormones had never flipped on like a light switch. She had to know a guy. She had to think about it.
Since sexual awareness couldnt conceivably be causing the dancing flutter in her stomach, she decided it must be the...strangeness. Hed given her a lot to take in. He worked with wolves. That was tough to imagine. He promised he wasnt going to let anything happen to her. It was even tougher to imagine her believing thatheaven knew, shed suffered consequences from mistakenly trusting mens promises before.
Shed been reasonably fine. Until he moved so close. When he wrapped the scarf around her neck, his wrist brushed her cheek. The muffler carried the warm male scent of his skin, and his touch aroused a shivery lick of feminine nerves. She tried to prop Johnnys mental picture in her minds eye, which invariably reminded her of the mistakes shed made. Only it didnt work this time. Steve wasnt Johnny. He wasnt like any man shed known before, and she had the sudden disoriented feeling that he could be far more dangerous than his wolves.
His towering height blocked the view of the woods, the world, the pale afternoon sun. She hadnt seen his face this close before. The weathered lines around his eyes and forehead were as ingrained as granite. He hadnt gotten those character lines playing checkers in a warm parlor. He knew what he wanted. It wasnt a life playing checkers. There was steel in his square jaw, wildness in his unkempt hair and rough, straggly brows. His touch was gentle with her, but she couldnt stop thinking that it didnt have to be. With his powerful build, she couldnt imagine anyone stopping him from doing whatever he wanted.
When he zipped the jacket straight to her chin, his eyes met hers. He didnt say, Make up your mind, Mary Ellen. He didnt say, Damn, but Im tempted to give you something a lot more serious to worry about than a few old wolves. It was just in her mind, that he was sizing her up in an intense, intimate way. He didnt want her. For petes sake, he didnt even know her. She was just imagining silly things because she was so shook up.
They quit, she said.
Quit?
The wolves. Theyre quiet. They quit howling. When he stepped back and glanced around, the breath whooshed out of her lungs. I dont see them. Do you think theyve left?
No. Theyre around. But since theyve moved out of sight, theyve apparently made up their minds to behave. Which leaves me with a tricky decision, he murmured.
Again, his eyes peeled on her. Again, she felt a curling sensation, as if her whole body was warmer than buttered toast. Foolishness. She was wrapped in double layers of down; naturally she was hot. It had nothing to do with the way he was looking at her. Whats this tricky decision?
Im not about to leave you alone, he immediately reassured her. I have a pickup over the next rise, about a quarter-mile walk from here. Ill take you home. But it would help a lot if you wouldnt mind sticking with me for a few more minutes.
Sticking with you?
Im in a bind, he admitted. When I first heard the wolves kicking up a fuss, I was halfway through feeding the pups. Theres seven of them, a couple I left hungry. It would take time to drive you home and get back here. Itd just be a lot easier to finish the job right now, but I dont know how shook-up or scared you are
She could have told him how scared and rattled she was. The instant she got home, she fully anticipated indulging in a nice long case of the shakes. She loved cats. She loved schnauzers. But this singular experience with wolves had permanently cured her of any desire to be anywhere near this particular animal again in this lifetime.
But damn. Hed saved her behind. Twice now. And hed mentioned the pups, but she hadnt made the connection that he had anything to do with them. The debt she owed him sat on her conscience like guiltladen lead, and geesh, what was a few more minutes of heart-hammering terror? Its not that Im shook-up, she assured him, and then had to clear her throat. The giant lie had almost caught in it. But youre the one who needs to get out of the weather. You have to be freezing without your jacket. Youll catch cold.
Over his jeans, he was only wearing a gray alpaca sweater. The garment stretched over his muscular chest, a thick-weaved, scratchy wool, practical and warm enough for a dash outside but hardly for working in these temperatures. Im cold, he admitted, but the pups are real young. So young that their survival at all is real iffy.
So it could matter, if they were fed right this instant, huh? She gulped in another guilty breath. Babies were babies. How could she be responsible for babies going hungry? Still, shed only asked him a question. She hadnt said yes, sure, Id love to stick around and risk my life for another few hours. Yet his response to her single hesitant comment was a devil-slow masculine grin.
I could have guessed youd say yes. Nothing much throws you, does it? And its possible that were pushing our luck, but I dont think so. White Wolf wouldnt have backed off if he hadnt made his mind up about you. Still, well just take this slow and easy. Have you ever seen baby wolves?
No, shed never seen baby wolvesor ever planned to. For two exhilarating seconds, her fragile ego basked in his respect for her courage, but that soaring sensation didnt last long. He was so totally mistaken. She hadnt earned that respect. She had no guts. Shed just never managed the assertive art of saying noa personality flaw that had majorly contributed to her landing in hot water in the past.
Shed never been in hot water quite like this, though. Quicker than a smile, hed taken her hand. Before she could draw a nervous breath, they were crossing the white sugarcoated valley. In the open. Easy prey for wolves or bears or anything else. Hed scooped both her skis and his gun under one arm, so it wasnt as if he could aim that rifle quick, even if he had to.