Chapter Four
Addison didn’t want to shift here, in the lobby, still stuffed into her winter coat and boots, but with Julian Clawbender looking as if he fully intended to grab her and drag her away from her friends, she wasn’t sure if she had a choice. Her wolf sensed a threat, and she was coming to the rescue.
“Trish. How is everything?” From across the lobby Trish’s brother Lincoln came striding over, his smile turning his face from merely attractive to downright handsome.
Linc Hunter was definitely a looker, with dark auburn hair and bright green eyes just like Trish’s, only in definite, very buff, man-form—and a whole lot taller. Addison stifled a sigh. Why was it she couldn’t have the luck to have Linc as her mate? Even though he smelled super good, and was super hot, her rebellious hormones said NO.
Keeping a wary eye on Julian, Trish reached up and gave her brother a hug. “We just got here, and look, we ran into one of George Howler’s friends.” She gave a stiff nod in Julian’s direction.
Linc nodded. “I see.” Addison caught the look Linc shot Trish before deftly inserting himself between the women and the arrogant shifter causing all the problems. “Julian, have you checked in yet?”
“Of course. I got here early so I could meet Addison.”
“Well, then. Why don’t you let the girls settle in and I’ll treat you to a beer in the bar.” He wrapped an arm around the other man’s shoulders and turned him subtly in the direction of the entrance to the bar on the side of the lobby.
Julian’s body went stiff. He shook off Linc’s arm. “I’m fine where I am.”
There was a rise of tension in the air and the tiny hairs on the back of Addison’s neck rose.
“I’m sure you are, but as this is your first visit here I’d love to extend the hospitality of the lodge.” The smile on Linc’s face never faltered but his muscles tensed.
Addison unzipped her jacket. She was ready, if it came down to it.
But the fight never came. Linc held his stance and stared down Julian until finally the other shifter’s stiff back eased and the smell of aggression in the air dissipated.
“I suppose that would be alright.” Julian moved away, heading for the bar. But before he got more than three steps he turned and shot a hard look at Addison. “I’ll see you later.”
She gave him a brief nod and watched him walk away with Linc. Her body shook with the near miss and the effort of holding back the shift. “Hey Trish, I’m going to have to think of some way to thank your brother.”
“Don’t worry about it. He’s just doing his job. We get a lot of shifter testosterone here and someone has to defuse it. Linc’s really good at it. And when he’s not here, there’s always someone in both the lobby and the bar to act as a bouncer.” Trish waved the keys. “Come on, let’s drop our stuff off and then we can get to shopping.”
“What about Julian? He seems pretty determined to keep an eye on me.”
“Him?” Trish snorted. “Linc will make sure we can leave without jerk-face Julian causing trouble.” She gave Addison a pixie grin. “I hear hot chocolate with whipped cream calling me from over the mountain in Snowflake.”
“Did I hear hot chocolate?” Eve asked as she crossed the lobby. “I wouldn’t want to miss anything hot.”
“You just missed Trish’s brother, Linc, getting all muscly.” Gabby pretended to fan herself with her hand. “Now that was hot!”
“Shoot!” Eve rolled her eyes. “I miss out on all the good stuff. Where is he? I’ve never met Linc.”
“And you’re going to have to wait a while to meet him now. He’s distracting Addison’s stalker.” Trish headed for the elevator. “Come on, Snowflake’s calling.”
Eve sighed. “Oh well. Guess I’ll have to make do with hot cocoa. Or a latte.”
Gabby shook her head. “Not the same. Not the same.”
The girls all laughed and headed for the elevator.
Everything was back to normal. Addison tried to shake off the encounter, laughing and joking with her friends, but as they entered the elevator, her mind whirled with questions.
Why had George sent Julian to watch her? He obviously didn’t trust her an inch. Did her mom know? Did any of this matter? She was done trying to play the good daughter to a man who obviously didn’t understand her, and didn’t want to. She followed her friends up to the hotel room, plans and schemes for independence percolating in her mind like a perfectly brewed espresso.
Snowflake was the cutest town Addison had ever seen. Dark brooding mountains covered with trees and snow towered to either side of the narrow sloping valley. She guessed evening would come early here, but now, in the middle of the afternoon, the entire town was bathed in bright Colorado sunshine. Simple tiny white clapboard houses nestled next to larger three-story Queen Anne’s. A bubbling stream ran through town, into someone’s backyard, between two houses then under a foot-bridge before disappearing under the street to reappear next to the sidewalk further down the street.
“I know most of Linc’s guests head on over to one of the big chic towns, but I love it here. It’s so cute and not nearly as commercial. Just look at that.” Trish’s eyes sparkled as she pointed across the street at a narrow building on a corner with a pink and brown spinning barbershop pole perched over the door. “Come on. They serve the best hot chocolate in here.”
“Are you sure?” Addison peered up at the picture of an ice cream cone. “Scoop it up! Sounds like cold ice cream to me.”
“They don’t just do ice cream.” Trish said, winking. “They do the best cinnamon lattes this side of the slopes. She nearly danced with impatience as they waited for the light.
“Sounds good to me.” Eve smiled, her full cheeks curving. “Even though it’s sunny, it’s still cold up here.”
Addison caught a whiff of excitement on Trish’s scent. “Could there be another reason why we’re going to the ice cream shop instead of the coffee place right here?” she teased as they entered the intersection.
Trish’s pale freckled skin went bright red. She averted her eyes and muttered something back.
Addison barely heard her response because, as she crossed the street, a scent caught her—a dangerous scent of warm leather, heat, and something powerfully male. The scent enticed her, stealing all her focus, and pulling her ahead of the group all the way to the corner, and the man staring at her, his nostrils flaring just enough to show that he’d caught her scent too.
She stifled her instant reaction to his intoxicating scent, trying to ignore the arousal flooding her body, and instead tried to hear what Trish was saying. But it was no use.
He was tall and strong, standing in front of a paper-covered easel, a long piece of charcoal dipping down, forgotten, from his fingers. His thick black hair was a little too long, and it blew carelessly in the slight breeze. He pushed it out of his face with long elegant fingers, never losing eye contact.
“Hi.” Blue eyes, as deep as the Colorado sky, were riveted on hers. The other women said hi in response but Addison knew, he was only speaking to her.
“Hi.” She stopped, the rest of the group moving past her as her cold cheeks washed with heat.
“Come on, Addison, it’s cold.” Gabby came back and tugged at her sleeve. “Latte time.”
But Addison couldn’t move. Her feet were rooted to the ground.
Trish looked back and forth between Addison and the man, her nose quivering. She shook her head. “Come on, guys, let’s go inside and get warm. Addison might be a while.” She leaned over and whispered in Addison’s ear. “Go for it.” And, tossing a quirky grin over her shoulder, she ushered the two humans inside.
Addison didn’t know what to do. She was hot all over, flushed with desire.
Suddenly, her winter coat was too much and she unzipped the top, letting in some much needed cool air. She could only think of one thing to cool this fire—unzipping everything and pressing her fevered skin to his body and getting some relief. Instead, she stuffed shaking hands into her pockets before they could reach for his. “So, you’re drawing people?”
Stupid! Can’t you think of something smart to say? But all her words were tied up in her throat.
The guy nodded. “Hold still.” The hand holding the charcoal began flying over the paper.
Addison craned her neck, trying to see what he was doing.
He frowned at her. “I said to stay still.”
Something in his voice had her doing exactly what he said, staying still. She couldn’t believe it. Here she was not moving even though what she really wanted to do was unzip his leather jacket, slip her hands inside, and feel along the muscles of his chest, down his ribcage, and along his abs. And then, to slide her hand even further down the waistband of his pants.
She felt aware of everything, of the sensitivity of her nipples under her bra, of the burning of her skin, of the damp folds between her legs starting to get wet.
“Stop.” His voice was strained. His hand was still over his paper and his chest was rising fast as he panted, puffing steam into the cold air. “You have to stop looking at me like that or we’ll be taking off our clothes and doing it right here in the middle of the street.”
“Doing what?” Her own voice sounded breathy, with a sexy edge she swore she’d never heard before.
“Sniffing.”
And with just that one word a whole rush of sexual sensation poured through her, drenching her center in moisture. Her shaking increased and she opened her mouth and uttered one word. “Oh.”
He started drawing again, a look of intense concentration on his face. When he was done he handed her the paper.
He’d drawn her as a manga character, a female superhero, with wide curving hips, sexy deep cleavage, and intense eyes under a thick flop of bangs. He’d taken her curves and clad them in skin-clinging Lycra, made every sensual inch rock.
She stared at it, shock, joy, amazement vying with the desire still pumping through her body. “This is me?”
“Yeah.” He swallowed. “You.”
“You don’t even know me.” No one had ever seen her this way. He’d drawn her the way she’d always dreamed she could be—powerful, strong, and sexy.
“I know you.” His blue eyes gleamed, his wolf flashing inside, and she caught a rush of sex on the air. “This is you.”
It was too much. The sure knowledge in his eyes, the way he smelled, the way she wanted to throw herself down on the ground and roll over for him, exposing her vulnerable belly for him to lick and suck and—
“I have to go.” She turned, totally intending to run into the ice cream shop and hide.
“Wait.” He reached out and grabbed her arm. His touch sizzled through her coat. “I have to know your name.”
She wanted to stay. Wanted to turn and lock her arms around him and kiss him until neither of them could breathe. It was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, but she pulled away and ran, calling out over her shoulder, “Addison.”
“Addison.” The way he said her name scalded her with heat, rushing need through her insides as she pulled the door open and scuttled through.
She pressed her back against the cold glass of the door and sucked in air to her panting lungs. She looked down at the shaking paper in her hand and breathed out the only word scrawled at the bottom in bold black letters. “Ethan.”
It was him. Her mate. She knew it like she knew the touch of her own skin.
She didn’t want a mate—didn’t want a man to destroy her like George had destroyed her mom. Didn’t want an alpha who only wanted to boss her around and steal her independence. But as soon as Ethan had spoken to her, she knew—if this man told her to do anything, she’d do it. And it scared her to her bones.