Page 6 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

“Oh, heavens, I am tired.” Sean propped his skis against the wall and sat down on the couch.

Sawyer plopped down on the couch next to him. “Me, too. That is a lot of exercise. How many runs did we do?”

“I think we did nine. I lost count after six.”

Sean grinned as his stomach rumbled loudly. “I don’t suppose you want to carry me to the main house for dinner, do you?”

“Nope. We can always have beef stew or beef jerky if you’re too tired to walk.”

“That doesn’t sound too tasty right now. I need real food.”

The dining room was packed when they arrived. They found a table in the back corner. The resort didn’t offer alcoholic beverages, so they settled on sweet iced tea instead.

“Good thing we brought our own beer,” Sawyer said. “I might need a couple when we get back to the cabin.”

Sean looked up from the menu as two pretty women approached them. One of them, a tall redhead with curves in all the right places, smiled. “My name is Marcie and this is myfriend, Ellie. We saw you guys out on the slope. We’re staying at the resort, too. We were wondering if we could join you. The rest of the tables are full.”

The petite blond standing next to her smiled and gave a small wave.

Sawyer stood and pulled back a chair. Sean did the same.

“Please, join us.” Sawyer invited.

“Thank you,” Ellie said. “I’m starving and I didn’t want to have to wait for tables to clear out.”

“Our pleasure,” Sean said.

Marcie and Ellie were very sweet and charming. They kept the conversation going all through dinner and Sean felt himself relaxing. Marcie touched his hand and arm occasionally and leaned in close to him when she laughed at one of his stories.

Sawyer caught my eye and grinned as Ellie smiled at him and lightly bumped his arm with hers. It seemed that the women were looking for a little bit of vacation romance.

“What brought you to this place?” Marcie asked.

“Sawyer got back from a stint overseas and wanted a vacation. He twisted my arm into taking a vacation, too.”

Sawyer laughed loudly. “Twisted your arm, huh? Your manager mentioned that you hadn’t had a vacation in five years and told you that she could handle the place while you were gone. You jumped at the chance.”

Sean shook his head. “That’s not how I remember it.”

The women laughed.

“Why Montaña Maldita?” Ellie asked. “Don’t you know about the curse associated with the place?”

“We know the story, but neither Sean nor I give much credence to such legends. People make curses come true. When they hear that there’s a curse, they look for things to go wrong and then blame it on the curse. However, things happen, and it’s just life.”

“That is a very unromantic way of looking at things.” Ellie twirled one of her blond curls around her finger. “I guess you two don’t believe in ghost stories, either.”

“Those we believe in.” Sean looked at Ellie and grinned. “Sawyer and I’ve both seen our fair share of ghosts. I’m pretty sure that there are demons that walk the Earth, too. I’ve seenAnnabelle.”

Marcie’s eyes opened wide. “Oooh, you like horror movies. Maybe you guys should come over tonight and we could watch a couple.”

“Maybe another night. I don’t know about Sawyer, but I’m exhausted. I’m going to finish dessert, take a shower, and go to bed.”

“That’s too bad.” Marcie slid her hand down Sean’s arm and gave him a sexy look.

He was about to reply, but then Xyla, Elliot, and Edward walked into the dining room. His jaw clenched when he saw them and a strong loathing crept down his spine.

Sawyer followed his gaze and shook his head. “Don’t let them control you and ruin your good time,” he said telepathically.

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