Taite’s breath hitched.
A tall, dark-haired man walked with sensual grace toward her. Cobalt blue eyes stared into hers from under the dark slash of heavy eyebrows. His hair, worn a little long, curled against the top of his shoulders, drawing her eyes to the strong column of his throat. A thin scar ran along his left jaw, from ear to chin, white against the dark stubble of his day-old beard.
Her lips parted. Her breath came faster. Some power she didn’t understand—was it just physical attraction amplified?—tugged at her. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but her voice seemed frozen.
Passion flared in his gaze for a moment before he hid it by dropping his lashes and looking at her from under hooded eyes. He was, without a doubt, one of the best-looking men she’d ever seen.
Other books by Sherrill Quinn
SEDUCING THE MOON
TAMING THE MOON
Sherrill is also featured in this anthology:
BELONG TO THE NIGHT
Daring the Moon
SHERRILL QUINN
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Staring down the end of a shotgun barrel was not the way Taite Gibson had planned to end her day. She bit the inside of her lip and, with two fingers, carefully moved the barrel so it no longer pointed directly at her.
“Listen, Mr. Wheeler, I’m not asking you to testify in court.” She left the yet unspoken. “I’m just starting the investigation for the Pima County Attorney’s Office, okay? I need to talk to you about what happened.”
The man’s face went dark with outrage. “What happened? I’ll tell you what happened! A bunch of punk-ass hooligans came in here and robbed me at gunpoint, that’s what happened.” Wheeler made a threatening gesture with the shotgun. His ruddy face darkened even more. “I dare ’em to try it again.”
Taite held up one hand and tried to inject as much authority into her voice as possible. This wasn’t the first time she’d been on the wrong end of a gun, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. “Mr. Wheeler, put that away.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry, Ms. Gibson. It’s legal. I’ve got a permit.” He held the gun in one hand and ran the other one down the wooden stock in a slow caress. “Ain’t she a beaut? Remington Wingmaster five-shot with walnut stock, twin bead sight, and would you look at the finish on that barrel.” He sighed like a man in love.
“I wasn’t concerned about the legality,” she replied steadily. “Just put it away. Please.”
With a mumbled comment and a last, loving caress he complied, stowing the gun under the counter. He walked back around and leaned against the glass case and fussed with a display of cowboy hats.
“Thank you.” Taite drew in a breath. She loved the smell of leather. Wheeler carried leather coats, chaps, boots…. You name it, if it was made of leather, he had it. She also caught a faint smell of something similar to sage as she walked forward again and pulled out a small notebook from her oversized purse. “Now, as I said, I’m here on behalf of the Pima County Attorney’s Office. I’m investigating the robbery in preparation for the trial.”
Over the next two hours, Taite got Wheeler’s account of events, drilling down to the smallest of details. “And you’re willing to testify against them in court? Point them out to the jury as the ones who robbed you?” she asked as she flipped the cover closed on the notebook.
“Yep. Those punks’ faces are burned in my memory.” He tapped a beefy finger against his temple. Big teeth flashed in a wide grin. “You get ’em in court, and I’ll nail their asses to the wall.”
She couldn’t resist returning his smile. “It’s a deal.” After tucking the notebook back into her purse, she flipped her wrist to check her watch. Almost six P.M. She had time to stop back at the office to debrief her boss—he rarely quit work before seven. She told Wheeler good-bye and left the store. Making sure she had her keys firmly in hand, two keys poking out between her fingers, she walked toward her car with quick steps.
A spot between her shoulder blades heated. She glanced around, but there was no one behind her. Just the same, she tucked one hand into her purse and curled her fingers around her can of pepper spray. There was no doubt in her mind someone was watching her.
She was so tired of this…this uncertainty. The phone calls had started a couple of weeks ago, then gifts had begun to arrive at the office—a box of candy, one red rose, then a dozen. Why some nut had fixated on her was beyond her comprehension—she wasn’t anything extraordinary. Medium height, medium build, medium brown hair.
Except she was damned good at her job and knew a lot of cops. Maybe the guy just had a death wish.
Another tingle between her shoulders. If it was her stalker, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing he was getting to her. Still, when she reached her car half a block down from Wheeler’s store, she couldn’t help herself from turning to glance behind her again.
There was no one there.
No one she could see, anyway.
Taite pressed the button on the remote and unlocked her car. Just as she reached for the handle, she heard a low growl. She whirled, thinking there was a large dog behind her about ready to chomp down. But there was nothing.
Keeping her gaze on the street, she opened the car door and tossed her purse onto the passenger seat. Another growl, off to her right, drew her gaze to a small alley. A pair of eyes glinted in the darkness, reflecting the light from the nearby streetlamp.
Holding her breath, she watched an enormous wolf pad slowly from between the two buildings. She stared at it from across the expanse of the roof of her car. The animal’s hackles were raised, lips drawn back from its teeth in a ferocious snarl. Its ears, one white-tipped with a chunk missing from its outer edge, were flat against its head. Growling deep in its throat, it stalked forward.
To Taite everything seemed to move in slow motion. She fumbled, trying to get into the car. The wolf kept its gaze fixed on her, the intensity of which made the hair on her arms stand up. With a small cry, she jumped in the car and slammed the door closed, flipping the locks for good measure.
The wolf leaped against the car, claws scrabbling against the door and window. The animal snapped and snarled, the force of its lunges shaking the vehicle.
Taite screamed and thrust the key into the ignition.