So I could have stood there fully clothed, and you still would have come after me?
Yes.
Damn. Wish I'd known that.
I'm glad you didn't. It's not often I get to enjoy the sight of a nubile nymph playing in the fountain.
And it's not a sight you're likely to see again. That water was freezing. She glanced toward the salon as Betise came back out. She appeared to be carrying something small, but from this angle, Neva couldn't see what it was.
I can't see it, either.
She glanced at him. It could be the masks I saw in the drawer.
Maybe, he commented. But it might be worth following her, just to see what she's up to.
What about searching her house?
We can't risk going there until we know she's going to be gone for a while.
She's likely to notice a car tailing her.
But not a pair of wolves. In this snow, she can't go very fast, so we should be able to keep up.
Maybe you can, she grumbled. I've got shorter legs, remember.
He grinned, and in wolf form, it was a fearsome sight. Legs I wouldn't mind wrapped around me right now.
That conjures some weird damn images when we're in wolf form.
I don't care what form you're in. You're beautiful either way.
She studied him a little warily. Okay, what are you after? You're being entirely too nice all of a sudden.
His amusement spun through her mind, as warm as sunshine. I'm a wolf and the moon is rising — what do you think I want?
You can get that without being nice.
He gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. Maybe you're just seeing the real me.
Yeah, right. If the man was basically nice, he wouldn't have the reputation he had.
People change, Neva. My reputation was earned a long time ago. His mental tones were flat, but the air burned with the flash of his anger.
But you've more than lived up to it with me, haven't you?
He didn't say anything, and the swirl of his emotions died. Had he been in human form, she very much suspected the shutters in his eyes would be up again.
Betise started her car and cruised off slowly. Duncan stepped back several paces. Keep close.
He leapt the fence, clearing it easily. She followed, scraping her belly a second time. She'd be bruised in the morning for sure. They loped after the car, keeping it in sight easily enough. Duncan had been right — Betise wasn't able to drive very fast with all the snow coating the road.
The car headed east along Main Street until they'd reached the outer limits of Ripple Creek, then it turned south into Mayflower Street. It was a back road, rough and narrow, and the wash of warm light from the streetlights behind them quickly gave way to darkness. Houses were few and far between out here, and the silence was almost eerie. A shiver rippled across her skin. Anyone coming out to this wild and lonely section of town at this time of night was surely up to no good.
From up ahead, mingling with the purr of the engine, came the bubbling rush of Hunter's River, the biggest of the two rivers that flowed though Ripple Creek. This road crossed it then took a long loop back to Main Street. Where in hell was Betise going? And why?
Neva lolled out her tongue, trying to catch more air as she concentrated on running in the tire tracks, where the going was easier. Loping long distances was all well and good when you had long legs and were fit, but the longest distance she'd ever run was between the diner and home last year when she was late for a date. A date that hadn't been worth the effort of getting ready, let alone running.
Which was basically the story of her dating life — at least until she'd decided to seduce Duncan. And while they weren't dating, they were certainly dancing. She had to wonder how she was ever going to find a man who could do to her the things Duncan had done to her. A man who could make her feel the way he'd made her feel.