"All right. You get us kicked out of here, you remember I told you so." She took two deep breaths, held it, cupped her hands over her mouth, and tilted her face up to the black velvet ceiling mimicking the night sky. She let loose a howl, rising up and slowly tapering off in perfect cadence, just like a wolf would.
And she was beautiful.
Four of his people walked by, looked them over, smiled, and went on their way.
She chuckled. "Guess there aren't any wolves around here."
Yeah, except the ones that just inspected them, maybe now thinking she was a lupus garou and not a human. Hell, half his people here tonight were probably dying to see her but were cautious, not wanting to annoy him. "Very nice howl. I imagine you can gather an entire pack."
"I do pretty well."
When she was talking about wolves, she seemed in her element. He was curious what else she did in her spare time beyond studying wolves. He envisioned her collecting stuffed ones and paintings of them. Maybe she had some statues collecting dust around her place. "Have any hobbies?"
She paused and sipped her tea, looked at him thoughtfully, and then said, "No, not really. I'm pretty busy with my job. What about you?"
She sounded a little sad, and he realized his situation mirrored hers.
He shrugged. "Ranching tends to take a lot of my time." And chasing down wayward newbie werewolves, not to mention trying to heal a pack scarred by past leadership. Which probably had something to do with his interest in Cassie. He was always so busy taking care of others that he didn't much cater to his own needs. And for the first time in eons, he really wanted to enjoy a woman's company.
"Are you sure you don't want to dance?" he coaxed. "A quick one?" He almost said to work off some of the extra calories she'd just eaten, figuring that would convince her, but then decided that might not be such a good idea. He rose from his seat and reached out his hand.
She looked from his hand to his eyes. She wasn't saying no. She was considering it.
"Just one. I promise. You pick the music. We can sit by the dance floor and have water to drink, and when you get in the mood..."
"My tires are probably already fixed by now."
He noted she didn't wear a watch. In fact, she didn't clutter her natural beauty with jewels and baubles of any kind. No earrings, no bracelets, or anything, which reminded him of his own kind. "I'm sure they are. One dance, and I'll take you back to your place."
He couldn't believe how desperate he sounded. He could see in her eyes that the desire was there and yet fear, too. Not of him exactly, though, or she wouldn't be considering dancing with him. Maybe fear of letting go. He wasn't certain.
"Come on," he cajoled, taking her hand and pulling her gently from the bench. "Just one dance."
Her heart was beating hard. So was his, as if both were preparing to synchronize the rhythm of their blood with the beat of the music. As he escorted her to the bar and dance floor, conversations at booths where some of his people were sitting died down, gazes following him and his date, while small smiles accompanied expressions. No one would say anything to his face when he returned to the ranch, but he could hear the buzz behind his back now. Leidolf had found a redheaded beauty to make his mate.
Not in this lifetime. Not with all the stuff he'd had to deal with recently pertaining to newly turned lupus garous. Or maybe they were glad to see him finally live a little.
"Just one dance," she said, "and then I have to go."
"Just one dance," he agreed, a little too eagerly, and hoped he could keep on dancing until the club closed at three the next morning.
All the drink tables by the dance floor were filled and the sprinkling of disco lights overhead made it appear as though a rainbow of fairy lights illuminated a forest. One of the couples seated nearest to them quickly vacated their table, smiling at him and at Cassie. She didn't look at them, as if she was embarrassed to let down her hair like this with a perfect stranger. Yet when he motioned for George to bring them water and the waiter hurried to follow them, Cassie kept walking toward the dance floor.
"Two waters," Leidolf mouthed to George, hoping Cassie hadn't planned to dance to only one song that was half over as he hurried after her.
The bandleader cast Leidolf a knowing wink, and Leidolf gave him a wry smile back, then took Cassie's hand and pulled her gently into his arms. She danced like a fairy, her heels gliding across the floor with ease, never faltering, always in step, her body soft and light and graceful. Why had she resisted dancing to such a degree? She was a superb dancer, and he could have stayed with her like this through the night. Then again, he wondered how she could dance so well if she was so busy observing wolves and hadn't time for much else.
The music played on and on, and he rested his head lightly against the top of hers. He noted amusement on his peoples' faces, glances at the band as they didn't end the song when it should have finished, smiles from other dancers just as tickled.
"Hmm," Cassie murmured as she rested her head against Leidolf's chest, "the band forgot to end the song." She sounded perfectly content, though, to continue the dance, and not in the least bit surprised.
And then the band finally ended the song. He expected her to pull away, to say she wanted to return to the B&B, but instead the band whipped up another slow beat, and she didn't make any move to quit the dance floor. Just softly clung to him as if there was no tomorrow.
He hadn't been with a woman who had felt this good ever. Until she called it a night, he should have been content to dance with her as long as he could. Instead, he was already trying to figure out how to get her to stay with him the rest of the evening. Maybe it was her honest, simple love of wolves that made him cherish being with her so. He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he didn't want to let her go. Not anytime soon.
And hell, he still hadn't gotten her to tell him about the wolf she'd seen!
* * *
Cassie knew better than to dance with Leidolf. She knew better, so why was she willing to risk detection? If he learned why she was really here and what she intended to do, and that she was one of them, he wouldn't allow it, if he was truly the pack leader. And the way everyone rabidly watched them on the dance floor, the way they smiled and looked hopeful, he had to be their leader and needed a mate.
God, he felt good. Not to mention he smelled delightful, of the fresh spring air, masculine, his body warm and strong. And he made her feel feminine and wanted. She hadn't danced with one of her kind in a very long time, not like this. She hadn't expected it, not his gentleness. Probably figured as a human she'd break. Especially as nervous as she'd been to come here in the first place.
Dancing with him like this felt so right, while she knew it was a big mistake. Ignoring that little voice that told her to thank him nicely and return to her place and say good-bye, she continued to dance with him. Song after song.
The band was kind enough not to pause in between songs. They never took a break either; they just kept on playing while Leidolf and she kept on dancing. She could have danced until the sun came up, and she thought if Leidolf had asked it, the club would have stayed open until then.
Despite trying to block the feeling, deep down she realized a part of her was missing out on life because of her obsession with studying wolves and lecturing about them. It was easier in some ways to work all the time than to deal with her past.
Even so, she knew this had to end. She finally lifted her head and with a faked sleepy voice said, "They're probably ready to close about now, don't you think?"
At a quarter past three, she noted no one had left, everyone wanting to please their leader, probably dying to tell the rest of the pack what he'd been up to with the redheaded wolf biologist all night.
"Maybe another half hour," Leidolf said.
She smiled and kissed his cheek. He returned the smile and dipped his head to kiss her lips, but she quickly pulled away and took his hand. "Everyone needs to go home. I need to get my sleep. My tires have to be fixed by now."
She swore she heard him groan, but she caught him bowing his head slightly to the band and to some of his people as he walked her out of the dance room.
"Thanks for asking me to dance," she said softly.
"I thought you couldn't dance." He pulled her under his arm and held her close as they walked outside into the brisk chilly air.
"Just didn't want to." More to the point, she didn't want anyone like Leidolf to sidetrack her from her life's work, although he'd had more of an effect on her already than she wanted to admit.
He gave her a light squeeze. "Glad you changed your mind."
She could tell from his husky tone of voice that he was more than glad. Now for the tough part. Sleeping at the B&B was not part of the plan. She had planned on going straight to where she spied the wolf, parking her truck, and tracking her. How was she going to get rid of Leidolf when he took her back there without clueing him in to what she was up to?
Chapter 3
As soon as Leidolf drove Cassie back to her place from the Forest Club, he knew something was wrong. She was quiet on the way there, which could have been due to the late hour, but it was more than that. She seemed apprehensive, chewing on her bottom lip, sighing, concentrating on the passenger window. At least she wasn't sitting rigidly against the door like she'd done previously. He guessed sharing a meal and dancing the night away with him had cured her of whatever fears she had of getting close to him.
He really wanted to stay the rest of the night with her. And he had hoped that as much of a connection as they'd made, she'd want the same thing. Instead, she was distancing herself from him again.
"Here we are, Cassie," he said, parking beside her truck.
She jerked her head up, and he realized she'd fallen asleep. He guessed she wasn't a night owl and was just overly tired.
"Want me to carry you inside?"
She yawned and stretched, then pulled a key card out of her satchel. "No. Thanks for everything, Leidolf. What do I owe you?"