Chapter Four
“How did you know I was here in Alaska?” she demanded.
“What?” He opened his arms. “No hug hello?”
“Why are you here?” She folded her arms across her chest. She wasn’t about to give an inch.
“Why are you here?” he countered.
She rolled her eyes and marched up the porch steps to push past him. Kenny and Mark were close behind her. As soon as she stepped inside, she saw Dendy had brought his assistant, Ernrider. The two men were as slimy as slugs and about as useful.
“Funny to see you here, Kid,” Ernrider said.
She flipped him off and headed for the stairs. Jaeger came from the kitchen and their gazes met. He narrowed his eyes and did a quick sweep from her and Dendy and back again.
“We’re checking out,” she informed him.
“Gabs!” Kenny exclaimed as he rushed up to her. “We can’t leave just yet. There’s the thing, and the other thing, and maybe that new thing.”
He held up a hand to shield his face and mouthed the word werewolf, like she didn’t know how to translate Kenny speech.
Jaeger came forward and took her elbow. “Come to my office.”
He was dragging her even before she realized what was happening. A second later, he pulled her into a spacious room and closed the door behind them. A large desk dominated one side of the room, with two leather chairs resting by another fireplace.
“Let me go,” she said, pulling her arm free.
“You aren’t leaving.”
She narrowed her eyes and stuck a hand on one hip. “Last time I looked I’m a paying guest and can terminate my reservation at any time.”
“Because of that man?” he asked, pointing at the closed door.
“That man is an asshole. I can’t believe you rented a room to him!”
“I haven’t.”
That took the wind out of her sails. Her mouth opened and then closed on an awkward huff.
“Oh, um,” she mumbled. “But I thought…”
“He was here inquiring about rooms. As I was gathering material together, you parked the Jeep, and he went out to greet you.”
“Greet is a strong verb. I would use the phrase ‘make my skin crawl.’”
He walked over to her, and with each step, butterflies in her belly woke up and started flittering. Everything else died away. Dendy, her job … thoughts about a possible werewolf existing. He touched her hair, rubbing the light-red strands between his fingers.
“Do you feel this between us?” he asked softly.
She opened her mouth to answer, but his lips settled on hers and all coherent thoughts fled. At first it was just a chaste kiss, a mere dusting of mouths. But then he leaned firmly into her, and his tongue grazed the seam, seeking entrance to the dark caverns of her mouth. She allowed him access, and the kiss changed from barely there to red hot in an instant.
He swept in, plundering swiftly, seeking her tongue to dip and twirl with his. He went deep and then pulled back, only to plunge back in, teasing her, drawing forth a moan of desire. She wanted more, so much more. She wanted to melt into him, give him everything, forget about the world around them.
And that scared the shit out of her.
She pulled back and blinked at him. Her lips tingled at the loss of his, and she licked them in hopes of easing the sting. He reached for her, but she evaded him, moving back.
“Gabrielle?”
“No,” she said, holding up a hand as if warding him away. She drew in a great gulp of air in hopes of steadying her nerves. “I can’t.”
“Can’t?” he asked, the word so thick it came out like a growl. He ignored her outstretched arm and took hold of her shoulders. She placed her hands on his chest and stared up at him. “You can’t deny this power between us.”
“No,” she whispered. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give into it.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m leaving in a few days. And I don’t really do affairs.”
He opened his mouth, as if to argue, but then abruptly closed it. A frown settled between his eyes, creasing the area between them.
“I’ve had one affair in my life,” she said. She took a deep breath. “And he betrayed me. Took my research. Made me look like a fool. I spent years trying to get over it, to forget that he made me believe and then made me question everything I had come to value.”
“Dendy,” he muttered.
She nodded. “I know this situation is nothing like that one, but I vowed to myself long ago to stay focused on my work. And that’s why I’m here. To work. So you see why I can’t?”
“No,” he said. “I can understand your reluctance but know this, Gabrielle. You are different. In my life I’ve never felt like this around anyone. Can you say the same?”
“We just met,” she replied, a bit breathless because that was what he did to her. “It’s hormonal. Attraction based on our aesthetics, enhanced by psychological factors of possessing traits and desires in which—”
He shut her up by kissing her again. This time she didn’t bother pushing him away, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and sank into the kiss. Being with him like this, it was hard to remember why she should push him away. All her arguments fell flat. Would it be so bad to give into the attraction? What would it hurt to share his bed for the time they had together?
A knock sounded on the door and he raised his head. The sudden intrusion shocked her back to reality and she hastily pulled away from him, far enough this time so he couldn’t touch her again.
“No,” she said. Although she wanted to go right back into his arms, she forced herself to walk away. “I need to stay focused on my work.”
“You’re a stubborn woman, Gabrielle. You know it’s only a matter of time.”
She narrowed her eyes and raised her chin. “You have business to conduct, and so do I.”
With that, she turned and headed for the door. When she opened it, Dendy stood there, hand raised and ready to knock again.
“How did you know I was here?”
He did a one-shoulder shrug. “Let’s say a little bird might’ve told me. Did you miss me, Gabs?”
She pushed him out of her way and strode determinedly through the lodge and up the stairs. Once in her room, she let out her breath and sagged onto the bed. Resisting Jaeger while dealing with Dendy was too much for her to handle.
****
Jaeger studied Dendy as he watched her walk away. Now that he knew some of Gabrielle’s story, he wanted nothing to do with the man. Just knowing at some point he had touched his mate made Jaeger want to rip the smaller man’s arms off.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to conduct business after all,” he said.
Dendy’s eyebrows arched high on his forehead. “After one private moment with Gabs? I must admit, she’s good.”
Jaeger’s wolf prowled inside him, wanting free so he could rip apart the man who he now saw as his rival.
“You say one more derogatory thing about her and I’ll punch you so hard you’ll forget why you’re in Alaska,” he said softly. The words were a vow.
Dendy lost his smugness. “Yes, I see now we can’t rent rooms here. Then let me say good day.”
“You better hurry to the hotel in town,” Jaeger replied. “Night is falling. And it can get very dangerous out there.”
“You’re threatening me? Over her? She has no business being in this business, a two-bit hack who couldn’t even finish school, calling herself a cryptozoologist.”
Jaeger moved fast, so fast that Dendy hardly blinked from one moment to the next as he grabbed the front of his sweater and brought him up on his tip toes. The three men watching behind them all yelled, and the next instant, Dendy’s friend was there trying to pull him out of Jaeger’s grasp.
“I would leave now if I were you.” Jaeger let him go and both stumbled back.
“We’ll go,” his friend, Ernrider, insisted.
Jaeger, Kenny, and Mark watched both men flee the lodge. The door slammed shut behind them.
“Wow,” Kenny said, sounding impressed. “I think the jerk peed himself.”
“No,” Jaeger muttered. “But he was close.”
“She had found a great piece of evidence,” Mark told him. “A tribe in the Himalayas who had a pelt of what they said was the Yeti. She was able to obtain a skin sample, but Dendy stole it from her and claimed it as his own. Turned out to be a new species, a hybrid bear that brought him national recognition and brand-new funding. Kicked her to the curb.”
Jaeger’s protective nature rose to the surface, and he had a new perspective on her chosen career.
“Thank you for letting me know,” he said. “Agathe has finished dinner if you’d like to eat.”
“What about Gabs?” Kenny asked.
“I’ll bring her a plate,” Jaeger said. “I need to talk to her.”
“Sure,” Mark said. He grabbed Kenny and pulled him along toward the kitchen. “We’ll just, you know, eat. You go take care of Gabs.”
Kenny gave him a thumbs up.