Guardian Wolf - By Linda O. Johnston Page 0,66
they appear,” Patrick countered, “they may get off with just continued hospitalization—in a mental facility without a real hospital attached.”
“Unfortunately, that’s true.”
The audience with Colonel Otis ended a short while later. So, Grace feared, did her proximity to Simon.
But as the Alpha Force members all walked down the hall along with Simon, leaving Moe Scoles in the office with Nelson, Patrick stopped in a small, empty lounge.
He looked at Simon. “This isn’t the place to go into any detail, but I’m aware of the degree of help you provided last night. The kind of help, too. In the interest of national security, I’ll need to work out certain confidentiality issues with you. First, though—well, I’ve worked on certain…let’s say formulations that you might find of interest, just as I’m interested in what you’ve been working on. I’d like to present you with a demonstration of ours tonight. Want to give it a try?”
Watching Simon’s reaction, Grace held her breath. He had always been so solitary. So independent. Would this be enough to entice him to at least consider working with Alpha Force?
He looked at her. His solemn expression suddenly lightened. He even smiled, causing her insides to somersault in a warm tumble of hope.
“Yes, I’d like that,” he said. “As long as Grace joins me.”
He loped beside his mate through the desert beyond human fences. The night air was warm, the sand cool and coarse beneath the pads of his feet.
When he looked up, he saw that only half the moon was lighted, a bowl-shaped celestial object, weeks away from being full.
A similarly intense light to the full moon, though artificial, had been used to help initiate his change. That and the liquid formula he had drunk.
He was very aware now of the humanity within him. The knowledge, the intelligence, the sensitivity were all enhanced, so much more than when he shifted with his own formula.
He had told the people involved—Grace, Patrick Worley, the three other Alpha Force women—how his formula allowed him to choose not to shift during a full moon. He admitted it was far from perfect, but they had been impressed, since their Alpha Force did not have that capability at all…yet.
He ran on awhile longer, the female wolf beside him easily keeping up. If he worked things right when back in human form, he would be able to run with her like this often after shifting.
The thought pleased him enough that he instinctively wanted to stop and howl beneath the half moon. But he didn’t. Instead, it was soon time to prepare to change back. That was a good thing, for he would then be able to prepare for this future he wanted to achieve.
With Grace.
They had changed back nearly simultaneously. The planning for this shift had been perfect, and they both resumed human shape exactly where their clothing had been left.
This time, Grace’s assistant Kristine had been told to go back to their residential units and care for the dogs. Simon and she would watch each others’ backs.
“Too bad we can’t be sure no one will see us here,” Simon said.
Uneasy, Grace quickly donned her underwear. “What do you mean? Is someone around here? Were we observed?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” he said. “I’m the one doing the observing, and I definitely like what I see.”
He had pulled on his briefs, but before Grace could grab any more of her clothing he took her into his arms.
His warmth and hardness against her gave her visions of hot, mindless sex…the kind they had already shared. She melted against him, knowing she was probably being foolish. Continuing to hope he would somehow remain in her life could only hurt her even more.
“Let’s go to my place,” he whispered into her ear. “I don’t want to run into any of your cohorts tonight. Tomorrow will be soon enough.”
“Soon enough for what?”
“Soon enough for me to tell your buddy Patrick that we need to work out some details.”
“For…?” she prompted, holding her breath as she stared up into Simon’s golden-brown eyes. He was grinning.
He was teasing her. In more ways than one, since his hardness was growing against her middle as he held her tightly.
“For me to enlist in the military and join your Alpha Force.”
“Really?” Grace almost squealed in delight. She held him even tighter, if that was possible, kissing his mouth until he bent farther and met her mouth with his searching, scorching lips.
He pulled away again, but not far. “Yes, really. I’ll share the parts of my shifting formula that they need if they let me work with them, participate in experiments, have it all. That was one great shift before. Especially since it was with you—and we weren’t chasing bad guys. I also feel better now than I usually do after a shift I created artificially—for many reasons.”
“Then you’ll really join Alpha Force?”
“I’m not great at taking orders,” he warned.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” She put her cheeks against the warm flesh of his still bare chest, reveling in the feel of having him so close. And in the realization that her hope to keep him in her life just might come true.
“I’ll tell you a lot you don’t know, as long as you give me time. We’ll have the rest of our lives to learn about each other—if you’re okay with that.”
She drew in her breath. “Are you proposing to me?”
He laughed. “Not yet. That’ll come, when we’re not practically in the nude in the middle of nowhere, and I have a ring to give you. Meantime, I will tell you something you don’t know. After all that happened before, I didn’t tell you everything about my family. I happen to have a brother who is also a shifter—werewolf, like me. His name is Quinn Parran, and he’s a private investigator. I’ve shared my formula with him, such as it is, and I might be able to get him to join your Alpha Force if we combine our medicines.”
“I’d like to meet him,” Grace said.
“He’ll like to meet you, too. I told him a lot about you years ago. He’ll be surprised about how things are working out between us, and with your military group. Of course I’m surprised, too.”
“As am I,” Grace said. “But I couldn’t be happier.”
She reached up once more to give him a kiss that promised, soon, to seal the deal between them…forever.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0953-4
GUARDIAN WOLF
Copyright © 2011 by Linda O. Johnston
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at [email protected].
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
*Alpha Force
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17