Sinopa Locklear poured her fifth glass of wine with hopes of drowning the panic rising within her, and leaned back against the sofa. Outside, the wind howled, a warning she tried not to hear. All she wanted to do was sit in her living room, alone, and drink until she passed out. She didn’t want to think of what the week ahead of her was about to bring. For five years, she had stayed away from Crimson Hollow, using one excuse or another to get out of the family’s yearly reunion. This year, her grandfather had made a special request for her to return home, therefore, tying her hands. No one disobeyed Granddad. He was the Chief of their tribe, and it was obvious he needed her for something.

She had been dreading the reunion for weeks, but in the morning, she would make the drive to their land. Crimson Hollow was isolated, more than an hour’s drive from any real town in Montana. At one time she had loved it. The tribe had been self-sufficient, not relying on anyone but their own people. But she knew better now—that apparent freedom had been a lie, and now, she had a taste for city life and wasn’t going back—even if her stubborn family welcomed her.

The doorbell rang, pulling her from her thoughts and making her want to put a pillow over her head. Likely, it would be Jenna on her doorstep, armed with another argument for why she should go to the reunion. “Go away, Jenna…I just want to be alone.” She took a deep drink of wine, downing nearly half the glass.

Rather than Jenna going away, the doorbell shrieked again, ringing in her ear drums at double-time. “I told you earlier I didn’t want company tonight.” Even as she bitched, she got off the sofa and staggered toward the front door. As she swayed down the hall, she wanted to kill Jenna, not for interrupting her but for not just coming in like she normally did. Sinopa was too messed up for this; even with her shifter nature to process booze quickly, she was drunk.

Without looking out the glass window surrounding the door, she pulled it open. “Jenna, I told…” Her words died off as she realized it wasn’t her best friend standing on her porch but a man—no, a wolf. His wide shoulders took up most of the doorframe, but it was his eyes that got her. The deep whiskey brown eyes stared back at her, stealing her breath and making her stumble back. Taking a deep breath, she caught the scent of his wolf. Her mind tried to process everything that was happening but the fog wouldn’t lift. Still, she tried to keep the anxiety from her expression. Normally, she could hold her own against a wolf, but plastered, she stood no chance. If he was here for a fight, she was dead.

“Well, you’re not what I was expecting.”

Expecting? “Who…” She clung to the door, unsure if she did that to keep herself on her feet or because she wanted to slam it in his face. “Who are you?”

“The name’s Garret Fox. I’m…I guess you could say, I’m your saving grace.” He adjusted the duffle bag on his shoulder and nodded. “May I come in? It doesn’t look like your legs are going to hold you up much longer.”

“You’re a wolf…” She couldn’t stop herself from saying it.

“I am, and you’re a fox. What a foxy woman you are.” He let out a deep growl as his gaze traveled down her body. “I bet you look even better when you’re not drunk and about to pass out.”

She squared her shoulders and tried to give him her best glare. “I don’t know who you are or why you’re here, but I’d appreciate it if you left.”

“A mutual friend asked me to help you.” He reached out and caught her around the waist as she began to sway in place. “Let’s get you sitting down and I’ll explain.”

“I didn’t invite you in.” She tried to get her legs to support her but they were like wet noodles. Even as she fought to stand on her own, she couldn’t stop the urge tingling within her to lean against his rock hard body. She wanted to let her fingers run over his chest and feel the toned muscles hiding beneath the shirt.

Keep it together girl. He’s a wolf. She wanted to blame her overreacting hormones on the wine, but she knew there was more to it than that. It had been too long since she’d had the company of a man. Shifters were sexual creatures and foxes were social too. She wanted to be around others who had a second nature. After spending much of her life around those who weren’t foxes, it didn’t matter what they changed into, only that they understood what she was.

Settled back onto the sofa, she grabbed her wine glass again, and glared at him. “I’m really not in the mood for company, let alone a stranger.”

“How about you hold off on any more wine until I explain why I’m here?” He wrapped his hand around the rim of the glass, blocking her from taking another sip.

“Then you better get explaining because I have a bottle of wine to polish off before I pass out.” Her stomach roiled in protest of more liquor and her head pounded a warning tempo at her temple that she needed to sleep. “I might just have to call the police on you. First you invite yourself into my home, and now you’re taking away my one enjoyment tonight.”

“I want to say this only once and not have to go through it again when you’re sober.” He took the glass from her hand and set it aside before he lowered his duffle bag to the floor and sat beside her. “I’m here as your fiancé.”

“Fiancé?” With a raised eyebrow, she tried to suppress her giggling, but it was too much. She tipped her head back against the sofa and let the laughter burst through until tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’ve…you’ve got to be joking. Who put you up to this? Jenna?”

“Jase.”

The amusement died away at the mention of her brother’s name. Jase was the only one she kept in touch with in Crimson Hollow and mentioning him sent a wave of homesickness rushing through her. They had always been close, so much that their other brother had tried to drive a wedge between them. That wasn’t a memory she was interested in reliving at the moment, so she focused on trying to figure out Jase’s plan. What was he thinking? A fake fiancé—how was that going to help anything? The better question was, where did he get this guy? I’ll kill him if he put an ad online seeking a fiancé for me.

“He asked me to escort you home.”

“What the hell was he thinking?” she voiced aloud this time. “Granddad will never believe it.” She pulled her legs up against her chest, hugging them to her.

“It’s only a week. I’m certain we can make sure he doesn’t question things too much. Jase seems to believe we can make it work.” He dragged his hand through his thick hair, leaving finger tracks between ebony locks. “I’m under strict orders not to let you return without an escort.”

“Orders…” She looked at him and tried to see through the haze of alcohol in her system. “You’re not part of the tribe, otherwise this act of posing as my fiancé wouldn’t work. So what does my brother have on you? And don’t lie to me; you wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t offering you something. I know how persuasive he can be.”

“What does it matter? We’re both going to get something from this. You’re going to get your family off your back.” He glanced at the wine bottle sitting on the coffee table and back at her. “From the looks of it, you were dreading this visit.”

“Don’t you dare think you know anything about me!” She rose from the sofa, then swayed on her feet for a moment before catching her balance. “I live my life on my terms. I don’t have a man in my life at the moment because I’m very busy with my career. I shouldn’t have to justify my reasons to anyone, not even my family.” She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the fireplace. Her chestnut red hair stood wild and unruly as she had raked her hands through it multiple times over the last hour. Her face was flushed and dark circles were starting to form under her eyes. She was a mess and in a few hours she had to face her family. Fighting was no way to start the visit.

Just like lying wasn’t helping this situation—but she could barely admit this to herself while she was alone; she surely didn’t want to come clean to a stranger. Her career…that was just an excuse to explain why she hadn’t mated yet. Jase knew it as well as she did.

“Sinopa, I’m not judging you.” His tone remained soft and compassionate, as if he truly understood what she was going through. “Your reasons are your own. I’m only here at your brother’s request. If you wish to refuse…my company…than please feel free to call Jase and explain it to him, and I’ll leave.”

“Sin.”

“Excuse me?”

She plopped back down onto the sofa and met his gaze. “No one calls me Sinopa except Granddad. It’s just Sin.”

“Sin…that seems to fit you.” His lips curled up into a smirk. “So what are you going to do?”

“Kill Jase.” She meant it as a joke but images of her hands wrapped around her brother’s throat raced across her thoughts. “I don’t know what he was thinking, but I need to have a few words with him.” She grabbed her cell phone off the coffee table and pressed her brother’s number.

“I doubt he’s going to answer. He’d expect you to be upset and call him to bitch.”

She didn’t bother to reply, even as ring after ring echoed in her ear. Damn it, Jase. Pick up. The ringing continued until his voicemail activated. “Shit!” She hung up without leaving a message and tossed her cell phone onto the sofa.

“I told you.”

She glared at him and let the anger override the alcohol still coursing through her. She really didn’t care what kind of deal Jase made with Garret because it wasn’t going to happen. There was no chance she was going to show up at Crimson Hollow with a wolf by her side. Other wolves lived within the tribe, but they were not her type. Wolves were too high maintenance and their alpha personalities proved more than she could deal with. Was it too much to want a quiet life with someone who thought about her needs for once?

“So…” He folded his hands in his lap and watched her. “If we’re going to pull this off, we’ll need to get our story straight.”

“There’s nothing to pull off. I’m not going anywhere with you. Jase was out of his mind to even consider I would go for this.”

“Jase told me you’d say that and he told me I would need to say…” He paused as if he was trying to remember what the exact wording was. “Much has happened since you’ve left and there’s soon to be a new commander. Swift needs you, and so do I. Come home, Sin, and see what can be.”

“What the hell?” She sank down onto the arm of the chair across from him.

“There’s something more—not in his words, but the meaning is still the same. He’s sent me as your escort because until the changes are complete, he cannot guarantee your safety. It would be up to your Granddad and well, you know how that is.”

“You mean the fact he’s never done much to protect me.” Anger tightened every muscle in her body as she fought to leave the past where it was. “Oh yeah, I know all about that. Jase was the only one who stood up for me. If there’s to be a change of Chief for the tribe and Jase wants you to protect me, that means he’s about to take over. But Swift, how does she play into this?” She thought about the only true friend she’d ever had. They had been inseparable until Sin left their land.

“I wasn’t told that.” He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his thighs. “Your brother cares deeply for you. He wants you home, and he wants you safe.”

“I don’t understand his plan.” Once again, she took in the man before her and tried to figure out how he had become indebted to Jase in the first place.

“As your fiancé, I would be able to protect you, where Jase could not.”

“But if this was to be long term…if Jase is taking over the tribe and wants me to come home permanently, then this charade would only make a mess of things. We might marry like humans do, so that things are legal for the rest of the world, but when shifters find the one they’re supposed to be with, they mate. Anyone that got near us would be able to smell that we’ve not mated.”

“He’s thought of that as well.” He leaned back against the sofa and smirked. “A bite will mark you as mine, but will wear off without us completing the mating. You’ve spent so much time among the humans, it wouldn’t be considered unbelievable that you’d want to wait for the wedding night to complete the mating. It will also make sense that we’re still getting to know one another, as we met not long ago, and our wedding will be soon because our animals will not wait long to be satisfied.”

“It seems that you and my brother have considered almost everything.” She glanced around her house, and while it might be small, it was hers. “But there’s one thing Jase didn’t consider. Maybe I don’t want to return to Crimson Hollow. That I won’t want to be under someone’s rule or deal with the crap I went through before. Out here among the humans and maybe against all odds, I’ve come into my own. I have a life, a good job, and my own home. I don’t want to go back to being the tribe’s outcast.”

“I don’t know what happened to you back then, but the choice will still be yours. You can return here and back to your life. This arrangement will at least allow you to be among your tribe for a short time while you consider what your options might be.”

She dragged a hand through her hair, pushing the reddish strands away from her face. “I need to think…I need a clear head before I make any decisions. The guest room is the second door on the right just down the hall. The bathroom is the first door on the right.” Without further comment, she strolled away from him and toward her bedroom. She needed a hot bath to clear her head and think things through. Leaving a stranger alone in her house wasn’t nearly as insane as going home with him as her fiancé.

* * *

Alone in the guest bedroom, Garret unlaced his boots and tossed them aside. Sinopa was nothing like he’d expected. The sexy as sin fox looked delicious even when she stumbled away from him drunk. Flecks of her temper had shined through tonight, making it clear that her fury was as fiery as her hair. She was going to be a challenge but one that he was up for, as long as it got him what he so desperately needed.

He unclipped his phone from his jeans and unlocked the screen to send a quick text message to Jase. Things are going as planned. I’ll let you know once we’re on our way. It wasn’t a complete lie. After all, she hadn’t kicked him out of her house.

He was there for one reason, and that was to get out of Jase’s debt. This was a small price to pay after what Jase had done for him months before. There weren’t nearly as many risks or danger now as there had been the last time they worked together. The only danger that concerned him was this attraction to Sin. He couldn’t afford to let himself get distracted by her.

One week—that was all he had to get through, and then everything would go back to the way things were. Surely, he could keep a lid on his attraction to her while pretending to be her fiancé.

Who am I kidding? She’s mine.