Page 40 of Wolf Hunter

ChapterTwelve

Tasha

Reid wakes me up at the butt crack of the day—it’s still dark outside—by banging his fists on the door like a drummer preparing for his solo.

I have no idea why. He never explicitly states. He only barges in without a welcome and leaves me screeching and scrambling to cover myself. The downside of being a kidnapping victim? I don’t have any of my own clothes.

He bursts inside the room to find me naked.

Whatever he’d been about to say dies on his lips the longer he looks at me, and I clutch the sheets to my chest and scowl at him.

“Don’t you have something better to do than gawk?” I snap.

His eyes go bonfire hot, and I swear the sides of his lips want to quirk in a lusty smile he works very hard to keep to himself. Finally, he rouses himself enough to ask, “Have you looked out the window?”

I push frizzy hair out of my eyes, grumbling, “Considering I just woke up, I’d say not. Christ on a cracker, Reid. We’re going to have to talk about some serious boundaries if we want to make this work.”

But I glance over and smartly keep the mouth shut as he throws the curtains open, because outside, it’s a wall of solid white. Wow, the snowstorm rolled in quickly. Even if I somehow manage to find a way out—

Nope, I’m not getting out of here any time soon, even if I hadn’t agreed to work with Reid.

Guess the universe has other ideas for us.

“My pack is divided,” Reid says gently. He lets a hand trail down the curtain before facing me. “I sent half of them out to gather supplies for us, and the weather moved in faster than we anticipated. They’re staying in town to ride out the storm. At the Maple Leaf Motel, if I’m not mistaken.”

Another odd coincidence, although there aren’t a lot of places to stay in Buson. Still…

“Well, ask them to bring my shit back with them so I’ll at least have a change of clothes,” I reply.

“My thought, aside from the fear that we’ll run out of food before the weekend, is that without everyone here, we’ll have less of a chance to find your answers. Or mine.”

He makes himself at home without waiting for an invitation and sits his rear in that wingback chair again. His massive body makes the piece look small. It’s doll furniture compared to the size of him.

“Did you not just hear me say that we might run out of food?” he asks when I remain silent.

“I heard you. But if things get dire enough, you can just shift and go out into the woods and bring us back a nice deer.” I trail my fingers through the air to mimic him running before I flop onto the bed, one hand keeping the blanket pressed to my chest. “Now go away and leave me alone. I’m trying to get some sleep. We’ll talk later. I’m sure your pack will be fine without you for a few days.”

Not like it’s been easy until this point. A new place, the constant threat of destruction looming over my head…

Does not make for happy dreams.

I’m surprised I slept in the first place. And better than I have in months. I send an accusatory side glare at Reid like it’s somehow his fault. Maybe it is. He kissed me. And since then, I haven’t been able to get the taste of him out of my head.

How rude.

Reid slaps his hands down on his knees. “Nope, I’m sorry. I’m not going anywhere. It’s time to get up.”

I don’t move.

“Tash? I’m not leaving this room without you.”

“Then you might as well make yourself comfortable because I don’t plan on moving in the next few hours. You see that blizzard? It’s perfect sleeping weather. Not to mention the fact that I don’t have a change of clothes. I really don’t want to put my old shitty clothes back on until absolutely necessary.”

“I can help with that.” The mattress dips, and when I crack an eye open this time, he’s at the foot of the bed now. “With four women living in this house currently, I’m sure we can find something to fit you between them. Emily and Darcy are still here.”

“I don’t want to wear anyone else’s clothes, thanks. They probably have scabies. Orfleas.”

“Tash…”

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