In that moment, she knew that if she really, really wanted it… wanted a hot, hard, single night’s fling, she could probably have it. With him.
No no no no. She’d just been dumped, she a sad little wounded bird. Getting horizontal with Harlan, no matter how incredibly hot he was, would not solve her problems. Probably.
“Penny…” he said again.
Penny jumped, dumping the first aid kit on the couch.
“Right! Sorry!” she squeaked, killing a bit of the tension. She busied herself opening some bandages and tubes of ointment, then hesitated.
She’d managed to forget that she was actually going to have to touch him. Crap.
Kneeling next to Harlan on the couch, Penny blew out a breath and leaned over to examine his shoulder. It was a bunch of tiny, deep cuts, not the gnarly wound she’d expected.
“It was just flying tree bark,” Harlan said, his magnificent chest rising and falling as he spoke.
“You were right. It isn’t that bad,” Penny said, gently probing one of the cuts with a finger tip.
Harlan didn’t flinch, though one of his pecs tightened.
“Told you,” he ground out, looking away toward the door again. Ignoring the potential awkwardness that might spring up between them any minute now.
“Alright. I’ll be quick.” Penny spread a little antiseptic gel over each of the cuts, trying to focus on her work. Her eyes strayed over his shoulder to his back, where black swirling tendrils announced a large tattoo of some kind. She peeked, and saw that it was a very simple rendering of a wolf howling at the moon. “Pretty serious about saving the wolves, aren’t you?”
Harlan grunted and shifted, not meeting her gaze or acknowledging her question. Penny grabbed some gauze and medical tape, then started covering his cuts. Her gaze trailed down his front side this time, dipping lower and lower.
Her curiosity earned her an eyeful, making her fumble and get tape stuck to her fingers. She jerked her gaze away from his crotch, but not before she saw the thick, long outline of his cock pressed up next to his fly, running all the way up to the waist of his pants.
Holy cheese and crackers, Batman.
Not only was Harlan packing some serious heat, he was hard as a rock right now. Penny bit her lip to stifle a laugh as she realized that all his staring off in the distance and shifting in his seat hadn’t been because he disliked her.
No, it was quite the opposite.
For the barest second, Penny almost convinced herself to lean over and cup his thick erection, just see how it felt against her palm. Or kiss his sinful, proud lips, maybe…
Harlan cleared his throat, and Penny realized that she was staring at his mouth, a blank expression on her face.
“Maybe you should head back to bed,” he suggested.
Penny’s mouth opened, her tongue darting out to lick her lips.
“—and get some sleep. You look, uh… worn out,” Harlan finished.
“I—” Penny faltered, her momentary confidence fading. “Uh, right.”
“I’ll clean this stuff up,” Harlan said, clearing his throat again. He was looking anywhere but at Penny, and making her more confused than ever. He might be hard for her, but he didn’t seem very happy about it.
“Alright,” she said, shoulders drooping. Maybe this whole thing was in her head after all, just exhaustion combined with some leftover breakup blues.
“You need help getting there?” he prompted.
“Uh, no,” Penny said, abashed. “I got it.”
“I’ll wake you up at sunrise,” Harlan said, plucking a few bandage wrappers from the couch, staring a hole into the first aid kit.
“Great. Sure.”
Penny lurched to her feet and propelled herself forward, glancing back as she hit the hallway. Harlan was definitely looking at her now, those green eyes of his practically glowing as he watched her walk away. His lips twisted when their gazes caught, but Penny didn’t stop moving.
She scooted straight into the bedroom and closed the door, then climbed onto the bed and sprawled out on her back.
What in the hell was happening between them?
Penny squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for sleep, though it didn’t come for a long, long time.
4
Harlan stepped back into the cabin, a growl rumbling in his throat. The whole world was coated in several fresh feet of snow atop the previously collected drifts, and it was almost as high as Harlan’s waist in some places. He’d made it as far as the main lodge before giving up and turning back.
The sun would warm the world and tamp a little of the snow down by late morning, but until then there was no point in waking Penny up. No car was going anywhere anytime soon, probably not for a couple of days.
Harlan shook of the snow and stripped off his jacket and boots, wracking his brain for a new plan. Last night, he hadn’t thought much farther than get her the hell out of Dodge, but the icy light of morning was proving him a fool.
A snow mobile could get her away from Winter Pass, but where would she go? It could only take her a couple of miles safely, and there wasn’t anything close by that would be a reliable, warm shelter. If Harlan sent her out into the world like that, she’d be in serious trouble again once night fell.
Something, anything…
But no. He had nothing. Penny was stuck here with a bunch of strange men, all of whom happened to be werewolves, and at least one of was way too interested in her every movement. If interest was conveyed in the sense of having a constant hard-on anytime they had to so much as breathe the same air…
If only Harlan was a normal human guy. Even being a fucked up former soldier with PTSD, he’d find a way to pursue his pretty redheaded companion. He sure as shit wouldn’t be standing here staring forlornly at the bedroom door, longing for some attention.
He’d have Penny pinned to the bed, fucking her brains out, ruining her for other men.
Another soft growl slipped from his throat. Harlan needed to get her out of his head, start thinking about how he was going to keep himself from turning her. He didn’t have to glance at the calendar to know that tonight was the first night of the full moon. The moon ruled the wolf, the wolf ruled the man, and therefore the man always knew the calendar by heart.
Moving over to the stove to boil some water for coffee, Harlan turned over different ideas in his head. None of them worked, except maybe…
What if Penny stayed here, or up in the main lodge? Harlan and Paxton could lead Chase as far away as possible. If they left soon, went far enough… when their wolves took over, they might be more interested in hunting animals than backtracking to find Penny.
Harlan sighed. As far as plans went, it wasn’t the best thing he’d ever come up with, but it was all he had. If Harlan led the Triad due east, the opposite direction from town, they’d probably lead the hunters away, too.
“Hey.”
Harlan jerked out of his thoughts, turning to find Penny standing a few feet behind him. She wore her own clothes this time, a nice red plaid shirt and jeans that clung to her curves just right, making Harlan’s mouth water a little. Her wavy red hair was pulled into a braid, fastened at the end with a few threads that looked like they’d come from some part of her shirt.
Her heart-shaped face, big