Terrific. She had connections with some Bubba local law enforcement dude. And trouble with the authorities was the last thing they needed. The locals here could call the cops in Montana, and information might get exchanged about a series of unsolved murders. He and his pack were innocent of wrongdoing, but it was as if a toxic miasma clouded their reputations.
“We can settle this between the two of us, no need for the police,” he replied. “For the last time, what are you doing here?”
“And if I don’t change my answer?”
Maddening. What a shrew. Her eyes flashed, and her chest rose and fell with her hot-tempered breathing. Ah, but she was sexy as all get-out. His gaze focused in on the cleavage exposed by her deep, V-cut shirt. A leather-fringed and beaded necklace, with some sort of woven charm, settled in the space between her rounded breasts. He couldn’t help it. Payton reached a hand out, as if his bones were made of steel and the necklace a magnet pulling him closer. He touched it, his fingers lightly brushing her skin.
Heat sparked his fingertips and spread throughout his body, and he dropped the necklace and stepped backward. For a brief instant, he caught a returning fire banked in Tallulah’s widened eyes—until animosity again took its place.
“What’s that on your necklace?” he asked, trying to break the tension.
“A miniature dream catcher I wove. And don’t you dare touch me again like that.”
Did he imagine it, or did her voice sound a tiny bit husky? His desire doubled, and an erection began to strain against his jeans. Here was an opportunity. He dared all right.
Payton stepped closer to her, their bodies inches apart. She didn’t retreat.
“You felt it, too, didn’t you? A spark between us when we touched?”
She skirted the question. “I loathe everything about the work you do.”
“But I’m not my job. I’m a man and I find you...very intriguing.”
“Don’t you mean maddening instead of intriguing?”
“Flip sides of the same coin. Can we call a truce?”
Tallulah crossed her arms. “I’m not one to back away from my principles, not for you, not for any man. Besides, there’s something strange going on around here.”
“Only strange thing from where I stand is that I found you slinking around in the dark with only a stupid story to explain your presence.”
“It’s not stupid. I often walk the woods in the evening,” she insisted.
“Ridiculous and unsafe. Perhaps I can coax the truth from you,” he said hoarsely. He bent his head, and she still didn’t budge.
A sure sign she felt the same chemistry as he did.
Because of the transient nature of his job, he didn’t allow himself to become too emotionally invested in any woman. But physically...that was another matter. What would this woman be like as a lover? Passionate, no doubt. If he could put up with her saucy tongue.
His mouth found hers.
Despite his calculated move, doubt assailed him. What the hell was he doing?
She pressed her full lips against his and groaned softly. The sound undid him—it had been too long since he’d been with a woman. He placed his hands on the sides of her waist and drew her even closer. Damn, she felt good. No, not good...great. Fantastic. They’d be perfect in bed together.
“Stop.” Tallulah stepped out of his arms.
Payton blinked at the unexpected emptiness and his hands fell to his sides. Even for him, he’d assumed too much, too quickly. He’d been carried away with passion from a mere kiss. What was the matter with him? “Sorry. Too much, too fast?”
She regarded him for several heartbeats. “You don’t know me. You don’t even like me.”
No denying that. He gave her a lopsided smile. “You’re growing on me.”
Her mouth trembled, as if she were about to smile, but she pressed her lips into a frown. “I have my own doubts about you, too. Am I crazy, or did a wolf enter your farmhouse about ten minutes ago?”
Chills doused the fever her body had created, and he became aware of the rain running in rivulets down his arms and face. Tallulah’s words plunged him back into reality. Apprehension replaced desire in a heartbeat.
“A wolf?” he repeated stupidly, buying time. “Not supposed to be any wolves in this part of the country.”
She crossed her arms. “Exactly. That’s what I thought. But I know what I saw.”
So someone had slipped out into the woods and shifted. A violation of the new pack rules. As a precaution, Matt had ordered that they only shift in pairs. That way, if one of them developed the lycanthropic fever, it would be impossible to hide the symptoms of their bloodlust from each other while in wolf form. Yet someone had violated the alpha’s edict. Why?
“You thought wrong,” he stated flatly, trying to create doubt and throw her off. “A wild animal wouldn’t let you get that close. It’d smell you a mile off.”
How had she managed to see this? Now that he thought of it, her human smell had been faint when he stepped outside. It should have been much stronger. Tallulah held his gaze, unflinching and challenging. He rubbed his chin, studying her exotic beauty. She was a mystery, a most unusual female. “I’ve never met a woman quite like you.”
“No,” she quickly agreed. “You have not. Now about that wolf—”
“There is no wolf.”
“Was.”
“Wasn’t.”
The rain picked up, and leaves rustled in the heightened wind. They stared at each other, bristling like wary dogs.
“We appear to have reached an impasse,” he said at last. Apparently, there was no changing her mind with mere words.
Tallulah held up a hand and stared up at the rain. “For now. I’ll be on my way.”
He couldn’t let her escape so quickly. Know your enemy. He had to win her trust, find out more about her. Ensure her silence if needed. “Wait. We started off on the wrong foot. It’s ugly out here, let me make it up to you by giving you a lift home.”
Tallulah hesitated. Was his presence so distasteful now that she’d rather wander home—alone at night—in the rain? “C’mon,” he said cajolingly. “Don’t be stupid.”
Her chin jutted forward in a now-familiar gesture, and she opened her mouth—no doubt the precursor to some sharp retort. Calling her stupid was no way to win her over. Time for damage control. Payton flashed his most charming smile. “What kind of gentleman would let a lady walk home at night in a storm?”
“How about the same gentleman who called a lady stupid?”
He bowed gallantly. “My bad. Please let me drive you home, or I’ll worry about you all night.”
“Yeah, right,” she said with a snort. “You’re not exactly my idea of a knight in shining armor.”
He kept his smile in place, although it took great effort. “I have a feeling your standards run extremely high. Besides, no one could mistake you for a damsel in distress.”
“Damn right. I can take care of myself.”
With that, she turned on her heel and started down the gravel driveway, her back ramrod straight. Same posture as that morning when she’d left the work site in a huff. The rain picked up, saturating her hair and clothes, making her appear sleek and even more sexy.