She bit back another scream and grabbed the grip bar at the top of the door with one hand, the edge of the bucket seat with the other, and held on.
Letting up on the brake, Declan downshifted and pressed the accelerator. The powerful V-8 engine roared, and the car shot forward, easily outdistancing the creature.
He kept checking his rearview mirror, his eyes narrowed, his mouth held in a grim line. “Wanna tell me just what the fuck that was?”
“What do you think it was?” Taite slowly loosened her fingers from around the grip and wrestled with the seatbelt, finally getting it hooked in place. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to rein in her scattered thoughts. That thing hadn’t been natural. It was more than a wolf.
She didn’t even want to say it out loud.
Declan glanced at her then ran his hand through his dark hair. “What I think it was, darlin’, was somethin’ it couldn’t be.” He slowed the car and made the turn to put them on Arizona Highway 77 heading north. Accelerating again, he took the car back up to cruising speed.
Taite drew in a deep breath through her nose and let it puff out from between pursed lips. “It was. You know it was. We didn’t have that much to drink.”
He didn’t respond right away. She glanced at him, met his gaze, then looked out the passenger window.
“You’re sayin’ it was a werewolf.” He apparently had no problems naming the thing aloud, though disbelief colored his tone.
She couldn’t blame him. She had a hard time with it, too. “I’m saying it was a werewolf. God, I feel silly saying it out loud.” She sighed. “But you saw it. It was a werewolf.”
To her surprise, Declan didn’t try to rationalize what they’d seen. He glanced at her again, his gaze considering. He looked back onto the winding road. She studied him, blinking tiredly at the fierce look of concentration he wore. Several minutes later, she rested her head against the headrest and closed her eyes, letting the quietness of the car lull her.
After several miles, he broke the comfortable silence between them. “I may know someone who can help.”
“Help with what?” Taite twisted in her seat to face him more fully.
He frowned at her. “With your werewolf problem.”
She blinked. “I have a werewolf problem?”
His sigh was loud in the confines of the car. “You said the wolf in town had a white-tipped ear with a piece missin’. This wolf had a white-tipped ear with a piece missin’.” He glanced at her. “Seems to me it’s the same wolf, and he’s trackin’ you.”
She hadn’t wanted to think past the fact that she’d seen a wolf twice in as many days and that the second time it had turned into something more than a wolf. But something told her that Declan was probably right. “So now I have a stalker and a werewolf after me? Great. That’s just great.”
“Ryder might be able to help.”
“Ryder?”
“Ryder Merrick. He’s an old friend of mine from university. He’s a writer—”
“A writer?” Taite snorted. “How the hell can a writer help me?”
He shot a dark look her way. “If you’ll let me finish, darlin’, I’ll tell you.” When she shrugged, he went on. “He’s quite a successful horror novelist. I believe the amount of research he’s done for his books can give us the information we need to fight this monster.”
“We? Who’s we, Kemo Sabe?” She arched a brow at him, the comfort she felt in his presence alleviating her fear somewhat. For the moment, anyway.
He grinned, a flash of white teeth in the darkened interior of the car. “Listen, Ryder is way out off the coast of Cornwall, lass.”
“Cornwall? You want me to go to Cornwall?”
“Well, hell, Taite. It’s not like I’m askin’ you to go to the middle of the Amazon jungle where civilization hasn’t yet encroached.” He threw her a quick glance. “He has a small island—Phelan’s Keep—that’s part of the Isles of Scilly. It’s an isolated place northwest of St. Mary’s.”
“Well, if in my new Twilight Zone world were I to go anywhere, it would be someplace silly,” she muttered, deliberately mispronouncing the name.
Declan heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Besides, this will get you away from the stalker, too. Kill two birds with one stone.” When she didn’t respond, he shook his head and added, “Ryder’s a bit of a loner. Too much of one, I’m afraid.” He adjusted the speed of the car as they approached the small town of Oracle.
“But…Cornwall?”
“It’ll be fine, lass. As long as I’m with you.”
“No. I don’t want you involved after this. It’s too dangerous.” She frowned. “Besides, what the hell does that mean? You don’t trust him?”
“I’d trust him with my life.” His answer came without hesitation. “It’s just…He probably won’t let you in. If you’re alone.”
She sighed. She noticed he had ignored her comment about not being involved any longer. He was so damned stubborn; she knew she’d never get him to agree to let her go alone, and she was too tired to fight about it right now. Maybe once she’d gotten some sleep and something to eat, she’d feel more up to a battle with her mule-headed macho friend.
“But if you’re with me?” she asked.
“Then we might not make a wasted trip.”
Chapter 2
From outside Taite’s bedroom window, the admirer watched while she packed a suitcase. She’d already put in a few pairs of jeans and brightly colored shirts. Then came silky underwear and other things—curling iron, makeup bag, feminine deodorant spray…
As he thought about where she would use that particular anti-odor product, his eyes went half-mast and his dick jerked to life. Wanting—needing—a better look, he moved closer to the window, careful to remain in the shadows.
He put one hand on his burgeoning erection and softly stroked his growing length through the material of his trousers. Already he could feel the material dampening as his flesh prepared itself.
From the moment he’d seen her, he’d wanted her. And she hadn’t even been the person he’d initially been interested in. Well, not him per se, but the man for whom he was doing this…favor. In return for something infinitely more valuable than mere money, he’d promised to eliminate someone his benefactor deemed expendable.
But the admirer had seen Taite and had gotten sidetracked by her beauty, her vitality, her strength. So while his mission was still on track, albeit taking longer than expected, he had made some modifications to the original plan.
Drawing in a deep breath, he held in the scent of potpourri she had in various little dishes and decorative bowls throughout the bedroom. Lavender was the predominant aroma. It fit her—he always felt at peace around her. Glancing down at his groin, he grinned and amended his thought. Emotionally, mentally, he felt at peace. Physically was something altogether different. She always stirred his body to action.
She had the window cracked about an inch or so, letting the cool air into the room through the screen. The curtain was pushed back only enough so it wouldn’t block the breeze. She sat on the bed facing the window, legs splayed, and he imagined her sitting there without any clothes on. His gaze focused on her pussy. One day he’d plow that sweet-smelling field. But not now. Not for