Ulrich’s hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. Millie stopped in midstride. “Maybe you do,” he said. “Maybe you do.”
She cleared her throat, felt her heart thudding in her chest, the hot coil of desire coursing from breasts to belly to sex. She thought of the dreams, the sense when she awakened of having run through the woods on four legs, the ache in her muscles, the tightness in her legs. The need, the overwhelming desire that had her reaching for her favorite vibrator. Such a cliché, the older woman alone with nothing more than her battery operated boyfriend, but it had kept her sane all these years.
“I wish,” she said, and meant it. Then Millie turned and walked away from Ulrich’s touch, well aware he followed closely behind her.
The cabin was small and neat, a square log structure nestled in the deep forest, surrounded by ponderosa pine, thick cedar, and old growth Douglas fir. Ulrich took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of centuries, the damp mix of rotting leaves and fresh grass, pine resin and wet earth that tickled his nostrils with ancient memories. The forest brought out the wild side of his nature and the wolf clamored silently for freedom. He would have to run at some point during this visit.
He wished he could run with Millie beside him, but the sense of her wasn’t quite as strong now. Of course, she’d put more distance between them, opening the door and stepping inside the cabin while he stood outside and inhaled the fresh air.
Feeling somewhat sheepish, Ulrich followed her indoors. The interior was as neat as the outside. Bare logs aged to dark gold formed the walls, and the plank floor was covered with hand-woven rugs. The kitchen had obviously been added more recently, and a small room tucked behind the woodstove was most likely the bathroom.
Tiny, immaculate, serviceable…with comfortable, well-worn furniture and beautiful watercolors decorating the walls. “Are these yours?” Ulrich walked across the main room and studied a painting on the far side. A pride of wolves led by what was obviously the alpha bitch. She stood beside her mate, but her eyes were alive and seemed to be watching Ulrich, not the large wolf beside her.
Millie moved closer to Ulrich and nodded. “Yes. I paint them on my days off. They’re such wonderful subjects.”
“You have a lot of talent. This is beautiful.”
She dipped her chin and blushed, then abruptly turned away. “I’ve got some leftover roast from last night. I’ll make us each a sandwich. I hope you like your meat rare.”
It was more than rare. It was still blood red, exactly the way Ulrich liked it when he couldn’t just eat it raw. She’d cooked it the way every other Chanku preferred their meat when they dined in public. He watched while Millie sliced the beef thin and piled it high on sliced sourdough French bread with lots of horseradish and mustard. She moved with an economy and grace he admired.
They sat close at a small café-style table obviously designed for one person, not two. Conversation came easily. They talked a bit about the sanctuary, the changes Millie hoped to make over the coming year, her hopes for expanding into some of the unused property.
When their plates were clean, though, they found there was nothing else to say. Ulrich reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Thank you. That was delicious. I know it’s rude to eat and run off, but I’m going to need to head back to town, find a place to stay. I came straight to the sanctuary without finding a room first, once I realized how close I was. We can go over the books tomorrow, if that’s okay with you.”
Millie glanced down at their hands, his larger one covering hers entirely, then up at Ulrich. He saw questions in her amber eyes. Even more, he saw her need, felt her powerful desire for his touch. He inhaled and scented the sweet perfume of her arousal.
Silently placing his heart in Millie West’s hands, Ulrich leaned across the small oak table and softly pressed his lips against hers. Her quick, indrawn breath told him she’d not expected this, but her lips softened, parted. He felt her sigh against his mouth.
He pulled away and cocked an eyebrow in her direction. She blushed and looked down at their hands. “You have no idea what you’re asking,” she said.
“Ah, I believe I do.” He cupped her cheek in his palm and forced her to look at him. “You’re a beautiful woman, Millie West. You’re funny and smart and very sexy, and your heart is good.”
She shook her head. “How can you say that? You hardly know me.”
Ulrich raked his thumb along her cheekbone. “I know you’ve cared for the wolves as if they were your children. You’ve given Seth an extra chance at redemption when most people, including me, would turn him away. The sanctuary is well run, the animals healthy and content, your employees look at you as if you hold the sun and the moon in your hands and you’ve done all of this in just a matter of weeks since the problems with the last manager. What more do I need to know?”
She turned away. Her cheek still rested against the curve of his palm. Ulrich felt her sigh. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound emerged. Finally she backed away, far enough to put herself out of his grasp, and looked him straight in the eye. “You need to know that I’m a freak, Ulrich Mason. I’m fifty-six years old and I’ve not been with a man for over thirty-six years.” She stood up and pushed the chair back, then turned around and wrapped her arms around her slim waist. “I’m not normal, Ulrich. There’s something about me that’s so strange, I’ll never have a normal relationship, never be able to…”
He circled the table and caught her up in his arms. She fought him at first, but he felt her embarrassment and knew her heart wasn’t in the struggle. Her resistance ended on a sigh as she pressed her face against his chest, body trembling, breath catching in her throat. He felt her shoulders shake and knew she cried softly, silently, in his arms.
He held her close, rubbed her back slowly and smiled into her blond hair while she quietly brought her emotions back under control.
Standing there, with Millie pressed close against him, Ulrich felt the lust that had been burning in him all morning long suddenly shift and subside. His heart seemed to swell in his chest, his eyes blurred with tears. Somehow, over the course of the past few hours, pieces of his life that had long been sundered appeared to have found their way back to form a tenuous whole.
Unbelievable, he thought, rubbing his lips softly against Millie’s thick crown of hair. After so many years as the pack’s lone wolf, Ulrich Mason knew he’d suddenly, irrevocably, fallen in love.
Chapter 3
Baylor stood to one side in the small landing at the top of the stairs and watched as Harry Trenton carefully folded the crisp hundred dollar bill he’d just taken from Bay’s hand. Harry had the good grace to look moderately guilty, but he lifted the door mat and drew a check and a five dollar bill from beneath it, then knocked on the door.
It didn’t open, of course. Bay hadn’t expected it to. He heard someone on the other side, a soft voice, low-pitched and slightly rough. “Thanks, Harry. I’ll call next week when I need a new order.”
“Sure I can’t bring the stuff inside for you, Ma’am? The box is heavy.”
“I’m sure. Thank you. Your check and tip are under the mat.”
“Got ’em.” Harry slanted a suspicious look at Bay and then turned and walked down the stairs to the ancient Ford pickup parked in the street.
He didn’t look back, though he did pause for a moment on the bottom step, as if reconsidering his actions. Baylor held his breath. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation here, so close to his target.
Harry continued on across the cracked sidewalk and climbed into his truck. The engine growled, the truck rattled in place, backfired twice and then slowly headed down the narrow street.
Baylor stayed in the shadows and waited. She was in there. He’d heard her voice, rough and scratchy as if from lack of use. Her scent