Part Two: Heart of the WolfI have to talk to her. I know the book she used is the one I need. How can I make her understand its importance? And how did she get it, anyway?Lia Popescue hitched the strap on her purse higher on her shoulder, shifted the book she was holding to her other hand, and tried to conceal her nervousness. She hadn't known what to expect when she arrived in Calderwood. She just knew not coming here hadn't been an option. The fact that she might finally have a lead to the family treasure she sought, to the traces of her lineage had kept her in a constant state of excitement during the two-day drive. Talking to Jamie Dalton Volka was her top priority. It was the reason why she was here in the first place, here in this town and this bookstore.Now tThe author sat at a table to one side, in front of a huge display of her book, signing all those books people had purchased."If you will all be patient," the woman standing by the author's table said, "Jamie will b
Ever since she'd seen the news about the release of Wolf in her New Reviews magazine, she'd had a feeling in her gut this was where she needed to look. Jamie had credited a lot of her information to a book titled Legends of the Werewolf. Lia had read and reread the notes her great-grandmother had handed to her in those last sad moments. Notes that told about generations past that came here from Romania and grew the pack. This had to be the book. Legends of the Werewolf. Surely there couldn't be two books with the exact same title.How many times she'd been told that the legendary book had disappeared some generations back. That book - or the book, as they always emphasized it - was rumored to hold all the details of their pack history, all the genealogy charts of the genealogy and history of her pack. She was well aware it had been lost for years until hints of its reappearance popped up. It was all too much of a coincidence - the mention of this town, Calderwood, and the presence of
This is perfect, Lia thought, as she turned onto the little narrow dirt road. She'd searched the entire area around Calderwood on Google Earth and discovered hundreds of acres of forested land at the edge of an area of older homes. How lucky was she the town had a nice little park right at the outskirts. Perfect for her needs, especially this late when no one would be around. She could park here, deep among the trees in a place where it looked like no one was ever around and there was no chance of being discovered or disturbed.She took her time opening the driver's door, scanning the area just in case, but there didn't seem to be anything moving except the animals and birds that made this their natural habitat. The night was cool but pleasantly so, a perfect night to shift and run. Quickly and efficiently, she stripped off her clothes, folded them, and placed them on the car seat. Clipping her car keys to a lanyard, she slipped it around her neck. Obviously in her wolf form, she had
Lia closed the book she was scanning and pulled another one from the big pile n the table. She'd gathered several volumes from the research section and carried them to a table in the main area of the library. If she sat there, she could watch for Jamie Volka whenever she came into the general area plus establish her presence as a diligent researcher. Maybe Jamie would come over and question her about the books she was studying and they could open a conversation that way.After two days, she'd discovered what a busy place the library in Calderwood was. Between reading hour for the toddlers, book clubs looking for new titles, people of all types looking for reference manuals, and the general population checking out books to borrow, people were always coming and going. A good thing because that way she didn't stand out too much.She hoped.And she loved the place. It had all the library smells that tickled her senses - wood gleaming with lemon polish, the richness of leather bindings,
As he drew closer, a jolt of electricity hit her like a massive power surge. She didn't remember if the mere sight of a man had ever turned her on so instantly and, for a moment, she could only stare at him.Damn!"Miss Popescue?" His voice was deep and rumbly, like warm molasses sliding over small pebbles.A shiver skated along her spine.Mate!Ohmigod! Where had that come from?She frowned. How had he gotten her full name? She'd only given her first name to Jamie for the signing. Oh, of course. Her temporary library card. She forced herself to be calm as she looked at hm. "Yes?"He held out a hand. "Riley Morgan. Is it okay if I sit down with you for a minute?"Lia put her hand in his, and that jolt of electricity suddenly increased by ten thousand volts. The instant they made contact, an image flashed in her mind of the two of them together, naked, skin to skin, his mouth on hers, and - Oh, holy mother. Not now, not now, she tried to tell herself. But every part of her bod
"Of course." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Jamie tells me you were at her book signing on Saturday. That you asked her to lunch."Lia's pulse trip-hammered. Thank god for her wolf senses that stomped on the apprehension swirling through her. If only she could do the same for these other feelings that slammed her. How could it be possible the man she was so instantly linked to could be here to cause her trouble? She folded her hands in front of her and leaned forward slightly."I wasn't aware that inviting someone to share a meal was a crime. Or that sitting here doing research was a problem." She lifted one hand and waved in the general direction of the rest of the main area. "Other people spend time in libraries without getting hassled by the police, I'm sure." She waved at her stack of books. "Like I said, I'm only doing some research. Period.""Jamie indicated she'd feel more comfortable if I chatted with you a little. We don't get many strangers hanging around in our library."
Harmless.The word bounced around in Riley's head as he sat opposite Lia in a booth at the restaurant. That was definitely not the word he'd use to describe her. Sensual was one word that came to mind. Luscious was another. Tempting. Oh, yeah, tempting. Because she definitely tempted him. The volatile impact the moment he walked over to her table had shocked the hell out of him. Other women had affected him, tempted him, appealed to him. But not like this. This was something completely different, and it unsettled him because he felt it was something so much deeper.The call from Jamie last night had tweaked his interest. But when she'd asked him to please check out this woman she was sure was stalking her, the last thing he'd expected to find was a petite woman with a body that begged for him to strip it naked, eyes the color of cobalt, and blonde hair that looked like a cascading silver waterfall. When she'd preceded him into the restaurant, his eyes had fastened of their own accord
This has to be the craziest thing I've ever done.Lia repeated it to herself numerous times during the afternoon. She asked him questions about his interest in Romania and the things he'd learned. She did her best to pluck as much information out of him as she could, but he really didn't tell her anything she hadn't learned from her grandparents. At the end of the day, Lia realized she had no more information about Jamie than she'd started out with.What she did learn as the day grew longer, however, was she was more attracted to Riley Morgan than she had ever been to another man. Just being with him had her nerves sizzling and her pulse doing the jive. She kept picturing him without his clothes, all sleek muscle and hard body. She had known since puberty shifters had extremely strong sex drives. In point of fact, she took certain herbs to help her control it. She wondered if even a massive dose could take the edge off what she was feeling for the very sexy Detective Riley Morgan.S
Lia was sure she'd never run so fast in her life. She didn't even care if Mike saw her naked when she shifted back and yanked on her clothes. She raced for the house, barely getting the back door open before she heard the ringing of the front doorbell. Scraping her hair back from her face and catching her breath, she flung open the door to see a tall, blond man in jeans and a pullover."Lia?" His voice was kind. Almost too kind, she worried."Yes, I am.""Charlie Ramos, Riley's partner." He held out his hand to her. "Riley's had a little dustup tonight. He'll be fine, but he's asking for you.""Where is he?""On his way to the hospital. I came to fetch you.""Let me just grab my purse and I'm ready."All the way on the drive to the hospital, she prayed Charlie was right, that Riley was going to be okay. And that she'd used up her allotment of bad luck.*****Lia didn't know what she would have done without Charlie. He was a calming influence as he drove her to the hospital
Riley's cell phone rang just as they were finishing dinner. Lia hoped it didn't mean he had to go out again. Yesterday, he'd come home early, and they had spent exciting hours going over want she needed to do to close out her old life and jump feet first into her new. Today, she had spent a fair amount of time on the phone working to make things happen. Riley planned to ask for time off so they could take a long weekend, fly back to where she'd lived, and pack up her personal things, stuff she didn't want to leave to movers.Some of the more important pieces of furniture they would have trucked here and put in storage while they decided what to do with it. The rest she'd worked out with the real estate firm handling the house. But she had clothes and books and other personal items she wanted, some things to settle. Her bank had a branch in Calderwood, so that wasn't a problem. As she'd worked during the day, she had conversations with bunica, telling her how happy she was.She'd also
When Lia disconnected the call, she gave Riley's phone back to him."See? You don't have to worry about me while you're gone. I'll be in good company.""Just tell him he'd better make sure nothing happens to you. There's a rapist out there."She giggled. "Riley, I don't think even the most insane rapist wants to take on two wolves, do you?"He stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "I'm just sayin'." He reached into the cupboard and took out two travel mugs. "I think we're going to need java tonight. Charlie and I take turns providing it. His wife started it when we first became partners, and it's become a regular habit." He winked. "What's a shift on duty without coffee, right?"Lia pushed back from the table. "Why don't you go get your gun and shield. I'll fix the coffee and have it ready for you."He stole another kiss. "I'm liking this more and more." He cupped one breast and gave it a gentle squeeze.She swatted his hand away. "Behave yourself. We don't have time for that.
"Okay." The word popped out before Lia could organize her thoughts. She was nervous and relieved at the same time. "I'll marry you."Mike tugged her out of the chair, tunneled his fingers in her hair to anchor her head, and gave her a kiss that seared her down to her toes. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, sweeping it over every surface and tangling with hers. Only when they both ran out of breath did he finally lift his head and grin at her, hunger glittering in his eyes."You had to know I'd never let you get away.""I hoped," she told him. "But you didn't bring it up.""Like I said, I was afraid it would break the spell and you'd leave." He sprinkled kisses on both cheeks. "Let's eat and we can talk about the future, okay?"In the end, it had been so easy, she laughed at herself for all the crazy thoughts she'd had. They'd gotten past the biggest hurdle. Her wolf. Everything else should be a piece of cake. Right?"Graphic designer," Riley mused when she told him. "You work
Lia was stirring a pot on the stove when she heard the sound of the garage door going up then the slam of Riley's car door and the opening and closing of the door into the garage."Lucy, I'm home." he called, in the age-old imitation of the familiar phrase from the Lucille Ball show."In the kitchen," she called back.Her stomach jittered with nerves, and her hand on the mixing spoon was not quite steady. All day, she'd been going over this situation with Riley, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. And all day she'd avoided the answers, not sure she wanted to hear them. She was both anxious for him to come home and dreading it.She knew he'd head for the bedroom where he'd lock up his gun and shield. Then she heard his footsteps in the kitchen."Something smells really good in here." He came up behind her, swept her hair to one side, and placed a string of soft kisses on her neck.Lia shivered as delicious heat swept over her. Her nipples beaded, her pussy ached, a
"I liked tasting myself on your lips last night. Did you like your own taste as well?""Yes," she breathed, and licked her own lips for emphasis."Next time I plan to mingle our tastes in an erotic cocktail." He licked her lips again. "My flavor and that of my wolf."She smiled at him. "And how was sex with your wolf?"He gave a rough laugh. "Incredible, but we aren't finished." He rose to his feet and rearranged her on the bed so she lay with her head on the pillows. "Don't move. I'll be right back."In the bathroom, he ran cold water over his hands to dial down his heat and grabbed the box of condoms he'd stopped for on the way to the Volkas. He'd been stunned to realize he had only one left in his stash. Had it been that long since he'd had sex? Apparently so, and that was a shocker. He was a man with a healthy sexual appetite, but apparently no one had appealed to it in a long time.He swallowed a smile. That was okay. Every other woman he'd ever been with paled in comparison
Unable to wait any longer, Riley dropped to his knees in front of Lia and began trailing kisses over her from her navel to her thighs. She trembled at his touch, gripping his shoulders hard to steady herself as he slid his mouth over her petal-soft, sweet-tasting skin. He paused a moment to swirl his tongue around the indentation of her navel before drawing a line with the tip down to her pubic curls and the curve of her mound.Drawing in a deep breath, he inhaled her scent, an intoxicating combination of the flowery soap she used, her musk, and the faint traces of wolf. His cock, which was already harder than concrete, seemed to swell even more, to an almost painful state. With his thumbs, he opened the outer lips of her pussy and took a moment to stare at the erotic sight. The petal-pink flesh had darkened to a lush rose and glistened with her juices already lubricating her.Spreading the lips open a little wider, he flicked the tip of his tongue over the hardened nub of her clit,
Riley pulled off his clothes, all except his knit boxers, and dropped them onto the chair in the bedroom. He'd worry about them tomorrow. Right now, he was so ramped up, so electrified, he could hardly stand still. He and Lia had not left the Volkas until after midnight. She and Mike had pored over the book - now he could understand why they spoke of it in italics - trying to trace all the different places they interconnected. Looking for relatives who might still be alive and figuring out how they could find them."Shifters don't exactly have genealogy societies," he'd said with a chuckle.Lia was in overdrive, so excited he wasn't sure she'd ever settle down."Do you realize," she said, "what this means? Maybe we can finally gather the remnants of the pack. We can be a unit again, even a small one." She tossed off her clothes, dropping them in a pile on the closet floor. "Oh, sorry." She grinned at him. "I'll pick them up tomorrow. Promise. I'm really a very neat person."He laug
"No," Mike said at last. "Not yet, anyway. Are you sure there's nothing else you want to tell us?" Those golden eyes seemed to bore right into her."Yes. No." She wet her lips. "I mean, I'm not sure."Beside her Riley stirred and reached a hand out to stroke her cheek."Maybe it's my turn to interject something." He cleared his throat. "It seems to me the two of you are dancing around two critical items. He held up a finger. "One. Are you related? Two." He held up another finger. "Does the book apply to both of you? There has to be a common link, so if there is, just put it out there.""But - " Mike interjected."Uh uh uh. Cop talking here. If it turns out you guys are enemies centuries back, I'll keep things under control." He leaned forward and raised a third finger. "Three. What if you are connected in some way? I know there are a lot of Romanians in this country, but how many are actually looking for this book?""Let me put this out there," Jamie said. "I've learned so much s