Desired by the Wolf Box Set, Page 3

  "You think he'll come again?" Becky wondered.

  Lenore rolled her eyes. "Not if he's a kettle and you're watching the doors like that."

  Becky's eyes widened and she turned away. A moment later they heard the doors swoosh open and both whipped their heads around in the nick of time to watch Nick stride in. He grabbed a basket, noticed the two ladies at their counters and bowed his head. "Good evening, ladies," he greeted them.

  "Good evening," they both replied.

  Nick strode to the back of the store like a seasoned pro. Becky turned to Lenore and squealed. "He's back!" she whispered.

  "Don't scare the customer!" Lenore scolded her. At that moment Nick returned with half the basket filled with meat. "Only half tonight?" she asked him.

  "I'm trying to go on a diet, and it helps me see you more often," he replied as he steered himself into Lenore's checkout.

  Lenore swiped the food over the scanner. "And it's making me think you're stalking me," she replied.

  He shrugged and leaned on the small check-writing stand. "We're both night animals. You work late here-"

  "-and you work late in your laboratory?" she guessed.

  Nick chuckled. "I like to think of my work as more of an old hobby."

  "Most people collect stamps, not culture samples," she pointed out.

  A strange glint slipped over his eyes and he lowered his voice. "Maybe I'm not like most people."

  "You're right. Most people would have swiped their card by now," Lenore returned.

  He blinked. "Pardon?"

  Lenore pointed at the credit card swipe machine. "It's asking you to swipe your card or pay with cash," she told him.

  "Oh, right. Sorry about that." He pulled out a card and swiped it, but his eyes flitted behind him at the empty aisles and check stands. "So you get off when the store closes?" he asked her.

  "Yep, and that'll be in about-" she checked her wristwatch, "- ten minutes, give or take five if we need to herd people to the front so they can pay for their stuff."

  "There's no one else here," Nick told her.

  He spoke with such conviction that she raised an eyebrow. "You've looked around?" she asked him.

  A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. "Just a hunch," he replied.

  "Uh-huh. Well, hunch or no hunch the place still needs to be searched." Lenore glanced over her shoulder at the her lone fellow checker. "Becky, could you look to see if we have stragglers?"

  "All right," Becky regretfully agreed. She tore herself from her check stand and strode down the aisles at the far end of the store.

  Lenore turned back to Nick, who still stood there smiling. "You're going to have to leave, too," she told him.

  "Then I'll wait for you outside and walk you to your car," he offered.

  "You really don't have to. I can-" Nick took her hand in his and planted a soft kiss on the top of her fingers. Her face flushed and she wriggled her fingers out of his grasp. "You don't waste any time courting a girl, do you?" she asked him.

  He chuckled. "Humans don't have much time to waste," he countered.

  "And speaking of time, it's time for you to get out and go home." Lenore walked around her counter, took the crux of his arm and pulled him toward the doors. She let go of him at the front doors, and he turned to her with a smile.

  "So does that mean you give me permission to wait for you?" he teased.

  Lenore rolled her eyes, turned him around, and gave him a gentle but firm push out the doors. He stumbled into the parking lot, and she returned to her check stand.

  Becky came from the aisles with a wide grin on her face. "I think he likes you," she commented.

  Lenore snorted. "I think he likes something he sees, but did you see anyone in here?"

  Becky shook her head. "That guy knew what he was talking about. There's nobody here but you and me, so I can go home and you can go to him."

  "You're enjoying torturing your boss, aren't you?" Lenore asked her.

  Her fellow employee shrugged. "How often do I get the chance? Besides, I just clocked out, so I can tease you all I want," she pointed out.

  "Not until I clock out so I can tease you back," Lenore insisted.

  Lenore went to the back room to clock out. She made one last check of the back room, clocked out, and hurried to the front. Becky escorted her outside and the two found Nick leaning against Lenore's car.

  He pushed off the car and faced them. "I was starting to worry you'd stood me up," he teased.

  "Not when you have my ride home hostage," she pointed out. Lenore noticed Becky standing beside her own car. "Staying the night here with us?" she wondered.

  Becky sheepishly grinned and pulled out her keys. "I guess I'll go. Goodnight," she replied.

  "Goodnight," the other two replied. Becky drove off, and Nick glanced back to Lenore.

  "I don't think I properly thanked you for showing me to your brother. I think we'll get along quite well," he told her.

  She shrugged. "You need him and he needs your money," she teased.

  "I still want to thank you. How does dinner tomorrow night sound?" Nick asked her.

  "It sounds wonderful except I work tomorrow," she told him.

  "We can have it after your work, if you're not too tired," he persisted.

  "And your house is a mess," she reminded him.

  "I can clean up the dining and kitchen rooms enough to make them serviceable," he insisted.

  "And I hardly know you."

  "That's what I'm trying to change."

  "And I have a tremendous appetite. I'll probably end up gnawing on some piece of expensive oak furniture."

  Nick grinned, stepped forward, and set his hands on her wide hips. "That's fine. I like my women with a little meat on her bones."

  Lenore blushed from the tips of her work shoes to the top of her head. "There you go with all that cute talk. I might have to start thinking you're into me."

  "Start thinking because it's the truth," he cooed. He leaned down and captured her lips in a possessive, lustful kiss. When he let go her lips were so hot she felt like she'd been branded.

  "You have a way with lips-I mean words," she stammered.

  "Then it's a date?" he persisted.

  She sighed, but nodded and smiled. "It's a date."

  "Good. Oh, and I expect you to come by with your brother tomorrow. I didn't get a chance to show you the grounds today."

  Lenore never thought she'd say the next words about visiting the Morley house, but Nick was fast changing her mind about that place. "I'd be glad to come."

  Chapter 5

  "He works really fast," Stan commented as they drove through the potholes to Nick's house.

  Lenore shrugged, but she couldn't hide her smile. She'd just gotten done telling him about their first date scheduled for that night. "And he's a good kisser."

  Stan grimaced. "Too much info."

  "I just thought you'd want to keep tabs on him. You are the big brother after-ah!" Stan swerved around a pothole and Lenore clutched onto the doorknob. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

  "No and this big brother doesn't want to know all the gory details of your love life," he countered.

  "Eh, it'd be a pretty short story to tell, especially with a guy I just met," she pointed out.

  "He tell you what he sees in you?" Stan teased.

  "Meat," she replied.

  Stan cringed. "Again with the gory details."

  "You asked."

  "And regret it." Stan turned the wheel sharply and they sailed past a pothole. They could see Nick's house just down the road. "Damn, but this street is getting bad. I swear the city put in a few more potholes since yesterday."

  "Or your driving's getting worse," Lenore argued. Stan veered again and Lenore put too much pressure on the handle. It pulled down and released the door lock. The door swung open, and she screamed as she fell out of the truck.

  "Lenore!" Stan cried out. He slammed on the brakes and screeched to a stop two dozen yards do
wn the road.

  Stan jumped out at the same time Nick appeared from the overgrown path. The men saw Lenore's limp body on the ground, and both rushed over to her. Though he was the farthest away, Nick reached her first and gently turned her over. Her breathing was harsh, and her face and arms were horribly cut by the rough gravel. Stan dropped to his knees beside her and his hands shook as they clutched onto her hand that was closest to him.

  "Lenore?" he choked out. "Lenore, can you hear me?" Lenore's eyes fluttered open and she winced when she tried to move.

  "We must get her into the house," Nick told him.

  Stan shook his head. "She shouldn't be moved. Let me call the hospital." He took out his cellphone, but Nick reached over and grasped the other man's hand in a vice-like grip. Stan looked up into Nick's stern, unwavering eyes.

  "They won't get here in time. Trust me on this." Nick let him go and slid his arms beneath Lenore. She gasped and clenched her teeth when he lifted her off the ground. "I'm sorry, but the pain won't last much longer," Nick assured her. He stood and rushed toward the house. Even with Lenore weighing him down, Stan couldn't keep up with Nick.

  Nick reached the open front door and slipped inside. Stan was a half minute behind them and stopped in the entrance hall. They were gone. He strained his eyes and ears, but didn't find any trace of them. However, the basement door was open.

  Stan rushed to the doorway and peered down the dark, twisting stairs. "Nick! Nick!" he shouted. There was no response, but he did hear a slight rattling of glass against glass.

  Stan pounded down the stairs and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He looked around the room and noticed some of the white covers were partially pulled off the laboratory supplies. One of the boxes was opened and marked with the word 'Samples.' His eyes fell on a couch in the far corner to his right. Lenore lay on the cushions with Nick bent over her. Nick held an empty vial in his hand that he quickly stuffed into his pocket. Stan hurried over to them and found that Nick clasped his hands around one of Lenore's. Her face was pale and her breathing was ragged.

  "What's wrong with her?" Stan whispered.

  "A moment," Nick replied. Even as he spoke Lenore gasped and arched her back. Her free hand clawed at the cushions and strangled cries slipped from her throat.

  Stan fell to his knees beside Nick and reached out to press her back down to the couch. Nick blocked his hands with his arm and shook her head. "Not yet. Give it a few more seconds."

  "What's going on?" Stan demanded to know.

  Before Nick could reply Lenore let out one last gasp and collapsed onto the couch. Her breathing evened and some color returned to her cheeks. Stan was relieved when her eyes fluttered open and she blinked against the brilliance from the overhead lights. "W-where am I?" she murmured.

  "Safe," Nick replied.

  Lenore sat up with some help from Nick. She winced and rubbed her head. "What hit me?"

  A smile slipped onto Nick's pale, trembling lips. "A gravel road," he told her.

  Lenore noticed Stan and glared at him. "I told you you needed to get that door-" She didn't have time to finish before Stan pushed aside Nick and wrapped her in a tight hug. A sob escaped him and her face softened. She returned the hug and patted him on the back. "I'm fine. Just a headache," she assured him.

  Stan pulled them apart and looked her over. "Are you sure? The car was moving fast and you fell out so quick-"

  "I said I feel fine," she insisted. She spread out her arms to show her dirty, but unharmed self. "See? Not even a scratch."

  "But your face," Stan insisted. He reached up and brushed away the dried blood and bits of gravel. His mouth dropped open. There was only smooth skin beneath the muck. He turned to Nick. "How?"

  Nick smiled. "I'm a doctor, and as her doctor I advise that she should stay here for a few days, at least until I'm sure you're fine. It wouldn't hurt to take a few days off from work, either." Nick insisted.

  Lenore smiled and waved away their worries. "I feel just fine." She swung her legs over the side of the couch, but a woozy spell struck and she clutched at her head. "Or maybe I'm just mostly fine," she corrected.

  "Let's get you upstairs and out of this dusty basement," Nick suggested.

  "And to the hospital," Stan persisted. "You may be fine on the outside, but you could have some serious injuries on the inside."

  "It was just a fall," she argued.

  "From a moving vehicle."

  "You weren't going that fast."

  "I was breaking the speed limit."

  "Then I really don't think you want to tell anybody I fell out of the vehicle," she pointed out.

  "Could we discuss this in cleaner surroundings?" Nick insisted.

  "I don't want to discuss it at all. I feel fine, and I'll show you." Lenore jumped to her feet, strode to the steps and marched up them. That is, until her foot slipped on one of the narrow steps and she fell forward. She caught herself, sprang back up, and turned to the men. Nick tried to hide a grin, but Stan still looked worried. "We will never speak of this again," she ordered them. Then she finished her march up the stairs and out of their sight.

  Nick looked to Stan and put a hand on the other man's shoulder. "She's stubborn enough to push any injury out of her body," Nick commented.

  "And too stubborn to admit when something's wrong," Stan replied. He turned to the stranger and looked him over. "But what was that vial in your hand? Did you give something to her?" he wondered.

  Nick paled, but smiled. "Just a little protein juice. It seems to have worked miracles on her," he commented. He strode forward and up the stairs after Lenore.

  Stan narrowed his eyes as he watched the strange man disappear up the stairs. "A little protein juice?" he repeated. He turned his head and his eyes swept over the half-covered boxes. Stan moved over and looked inside the one labeled 'Samples.' There were other vials inside filled with a dark-red liquid. He took one and pocketed it inside his jacket. "We'll just see what you gave my sister," he murmured.

  Chapter 6

  Lenore stalked up the stairs and stopped in the hallway. She leaned against the wall and caught her breath. Her body ached and her head was a little woozy, but she didn't feel like she'd just fallen out of a moving vehicle. She heard the footsteps of the men follow her, straightened, and plastered a smile on her face. The men appeared and Nick paused when he noticed her face. A shadow crossed his own face and he stepped to the side to allow Stan through behind him.

  Stan stopped in the doorway and glanced up at the ceiling. "Where did you want me to start tearing the walls down?"

  Nick smiled. "I hope not literally," he countered.

  Stan nodded at the hallway walls. "Not for any of the bearing walls, but a lot of these boards will have to go," Stan replied.

  Nick bowed his head. "I will leave you to your work, and leave my pocketbook in your hands," Nick told him. He turned to Lenore and offered her his arm. "But I still owe you a walk through my jungle."

  "Without a gun? There might be wild animals," she teased.

  "While I like to hunt every now and then I'm afraid I don't own my own gun," he told her.

  Lenore sighed and took his arm. "I suppose we'll at least feed the wildlife," she quipped.

  Nick laughed and led her out through the front door. He guided her halfway down the path and stopped them beneath the wild canopy of an overgrown oak. "This is the front yard," he announced.

  She smiled. "How can you tell through the branches and weeds?" she wondered.

  "Just a lucky guess," he teased. He glanced around them at the broken branches, waist-high weed, and piles of dead leaves. "I hope you'll be able to tell someday soon. I plan on bringing this place back to its former glory."

  Lenore furrowed her brow. "Why?" she asked him.

  "Well, it is my home now," he pointed out.

  She shook her head. "No, I mean why this place? Why take a rundown, spooky old home and put all that money into it when you could have bought a new one for a better price?"


  He sighed and shrugged. "I suppose because this place reminds me of me."

  She stared at the handsome, well-dressed man in front of her and then back at the rundown, decrepit house behind them. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I don't see the resemblance," she told him.

  He chuckled. "No, I don't think many people would." He grasped her hands and looked into her eyes. She turned to him and a soft blush arose in her cheeks. His eyes were alight with a fire that quickened her pulse and left her breathless. "But I want you to understand. This place, these grounds, they feel like home to me. The wildness of the place is the wildness in my heart. Do you understand?"

  "I-I'm not sure," she admitted.

  Nick wasn't put off. He gave her hands a squeeze. "That's all right, I'm sure you'll understand someday. Until that day comes, let me show you around this place and maybe you'll get to know a little more about it and me."

  Nick wrapped one of her arms in his and guided her off the beaten path and into the wilderness of the yard. They followed a wide rabbit trail that weaved through the weeds, under bushes, and around trees. They house was never farther than thirty yards away, but it might as well have been in another world. The wilderness blocked their view of all things human and wrapped them in its untamed embrace.

  The yard was a mess of natural growth that was both a refreshing change from modernity and an uneasy reminder of how quickly civilization could crumble without proper care. Vines climbed up dead and living trees, and the limbs of bushes twined around one another. Leaves crunched beneath their feet, and birds and squirrels scattered at their coming. It was a dual picture of natural order and disorder.

  Lenore clung to this strange, handsome man as weeds clawed at their clothing and branches blocked their way. She felt refreshed and yet frightened. The dark shadows reached out for her, called to her to come explore their deep depths. She almost obeyed the beckoning, but she was frightened by this strange new urge. It wasn't natural. It wasn't her.

  "Are you all right?" Nick asked her, breaking the silence between them.

  "I-I'm fine. It's just-well-"

  Nick stopped them and turned her so they faced each other. Her hands were nestled inside his. He looked into her pale face and furrowed his brow. "Maybe you're not feeling as well as I'd hoped," he mused.