me.”
Red wrapped his arms around me and whispered mockingly in my ear, “I can barely keep my hands off him myself. Maybe we should take turns.”
I choked on a surprised laugh, and felt Red’s arms tighten around my waist. I hadn’t noticed it before, but he was exuding some faint, wonderful fragrance of smoke and woods and wild herbs.
Magda raised one imperious hand, as if cutting off an orchestra. “What is this bear man? Another kind of therian?”
“It’s a Liminal critter,” said Red, releasing me and retrieving his drink from the counter. “The biggest, but not the only one. They’re called manitous, and I’ve been tracking them, and I know where they are.” A moment ago, when he’d been holding me, I had felt sure that we were on the same team. My mate. But the moment he’d stepped away from me, it had felt as though a steel door had slammed shut between us. I had been with this man for over a year, but I was beginning to suspect that I had only seen the part of him that he’d allowed me to see. “I also know where they’re not. No sign of one around this cabin.” Red finished his bourbon and wiped his mouth on the back of his arm.
“Maybe you missed one,” said Hunter, taking the bottle and helping himself to a glass.
“That’s not the kind of thing I miss,” said Red, lifting the glass out of Hunter’s hand before he could drink it.
“Thank you.” I intercepted the glass, raising it to Red in a mock toast. “It’s been a rough day.” I’d had enough of changeable men. This time, nobody was going to play me. I threw the drink back, the tough dame who gave as good as she got. The bourbon hit the back of my throat and I began to choke.
Someone slapped me hard between the shoulder blades and I looked up, my eyes streaming with tears. Magda was smiling at me, amused. “Thanks,” I said sarcastically, my voice still hoarse.
“My pleasure.” Magda paused, her nostrils flaring. “That scent …” She turned, moving closer to Red, her black eyes unreadable. When she stood a foot from him, her nostrils flared. “It is not just her,” she said, sounding surprised. “You are in heat as well. I have never heard of such a thing … in wolves. Coyotes, of course, are different.”
“A woman keeps riding a man about something, it makes the man start to wonder.” Red pushed his face up to hers. “You trying to get a rise out of me, Miss Maggie?”
Magda laughed, a low and husky sound. I had the feeling it was mostly for Hunter’s benefit, but something in me stiffened when she curled her big hands around Red’s biceps. “I must admit, I am tempted. You seem different, somehow. Stronger.” She squeezed his muscle. “Harder.”
I waited for Red to tell her off, but he just raised one eyebrow. “You testing me for firmness, or looking for a rotten spot?”
“That depends,” Magda began, but Hunter cut her off.
He looked almost comical in his astonishment. “You aren’t seriously considering letting that … redneck coyote touch you?”
Magda toyed with a strand of Red’s hair, and even I could feel the pull. She was a great strapping Amazon, intimidating and compelling, and if she didn’t snap Red in two, she’d probably give him the ride of his life. “I’ve never been with a male in heat,” she said in a low, seductive voice. “Perhaps it would add to my chances of conceiving. And he is a shaman, too—yes, perhaps I have not been investigating all my options.”
I think Magda was angling for a challenge, but Hunter just shook his head in disbelief. “So you want to screw this miserable runt?”
Magda smiled, her eyes locked on Red’s, her body pressed up against his. “It appears he’s rather larger than I suspected.”
A low growl emerged from my throat. If my horn-dog ex wasn’t going to raise a fuss, then it was down to me.
“I think the missus is objecting,” Red said, and I was still human enough to catch the crooked smile playing about the corners of his mouth, and the look of quiet satisfaction in his eyes.
“You,” I said, jabbing my finger at Magda, “paws off my man.”
“Don’t be stupid, woman. I am bigger, stronger, and most important, smarter.”
“Excuse me? You are not smarter.”
“Please. You give vaccinations to lapdogs and house-cats. I research genetic mutations and their effect on behavior in the wild.” Magda’s