Bayou Wolf

“There is no wolf.”

“Was.”

“Wasn’t.”

The rain picked up, and leaves rustled in the heightened wind. They stared at each other, bristling like wary dogs.

“We appear to have reached an impasse,” he said at last. Apparently, there was no changing her mind with mere words.

Tallulah held up a hand and stared up at the rain. “For now. I’ll be on my way.”

He couldn’t let her escape so quickly. Know your enemy. He had to win her trust, find out more about her. Ensure her silence if needed. “Wait. We started off on the wrong foot. It’s ugly out here, let me make it up to you by giving you a lift home.”

Tallulah hesitated. Was his presence so distasteful now that she’d rather wander home—alone at night—in the rain? “C’mon,” he said cajolingly. “Don’t be stupid.”

Her chin jutted forward in a now-familiar gesture, and she opened her mouth—no doubt the precursor to some sharp retort. Calling her stupid was no way to win her over. Time for damage control. Payton flashed his most charming smile. “What kind of gentleman would let a lady walk home at night in a storm?”

“How about the same gentleman who called a lady stupid?”

He bowed gallantly. “My bad. Please let me drive you home, or I’ll worry about you all night.”

“Yeah, right,” she said with a snort. “You’re not exactly my idea of a knight in shining armor.”

He kept his smile in place, although it took great effort. “I have a feeling your standards run extremely high. Besides, no one could mistake you for a damsel in distress.”

“Damn right. I can take care of myself.”

With that, she turned on her heel and started down the gravel driveway, her back ramrod straight. Same posture as that morning when she’d left the work site in a huff. The rain picked up, saturating her hair and clothes, making her appear sleek and even more sexy. Tallulah didn’t even hurry her pace. A woman used to the elements, impervious to nature’s nuances.

It appealed to his inner, primal wolf. That hidden part of himself that was also at one with the night and the land. His pulse raced as he imagined the two of them in some hidden forest glade, naked and wet, making love under a full moon as rain caressed their bodies.

He blinked, coming out of his hormonal trance. Damn, if she didn’t do the weirdest things to his mind. Tallulah was already at the end of the drive and stepping out onto the road. Payton ran a hand through his soaked hair and dug the truck keys out of his pocket. Quickly, he jumped in the truck, cranked up the engine and eased out of the tangle of vehicles.

Tallulah never even turned around as he pulled up beside her on the road. He unrolled the passenger side window.

“Get in,” he barked.

She kept her face forward, her angular profile set in stone. “No, thank you.”

Son of a bitch. Payton shifted to Park, scrambled from the truck and marched in front of Tallulah, blocking her direct path. Just as she had blocked him this morning on the skidder. “C’mon, Tallulah. This is ridiculous.”

It wasn’t just a matter of getting wet. It was dark, and a member of the pack had violated house rules by roaming in wolf form, so who knew if others were doing the same, and damn it, he couldn’t stand seeing a woman walk the streets alone at night. Even one as strong and stubborn as Tallulah.

A sudden thought floored him. “You aren’t afraid of getting in the truck with me, are you?”

“’Course not.” Her chin lifted.

Payton hid his smile and opened the passenger door. “Well then,” he said, gesturing her to enter. If he guessed correctly, she wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.

“I guess I could use a lift,” she said ungraciously, her mouth twisting. “If you’re sure.”

Tallulah climbed in the old Chevy and he shut the door, hurrying to the driver’s side and getting out of the pouring rain.

She sat as far from him as possible, her body jammed against the door. “Does the entire timber crew live out here?” she asked with a nod toward the farmhouse.

Payton shot her a sideways glance as he shifted into Drive and pulled away. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one fishing for more information. “We do. It’s more convenient that way. What about you? Do you live alone?”

“Yes.”

“No, Mister Silver?” he asked.

“Only my twin brother. No husband and no father.” She faced him, direct as usual. “You married?”

“Nope.” He could be as circumspect as she could.

They came to a stop sign. “Right or left?” he asked. “I need directions.”

“Take a right. I live about seven miles down this road.”

“Pretty long walk you took tonight,” he observed. And she was willing to walk that distance alone in the rain? Just to spite him?

“I’m in excellent health,” she said icily.

He surreptitiously glanced at the shirt clinging to her full breasts, the toned biceps of her arms, her long, lean legs. What he wouldn’t give to see her without clothing, to explore every inch of her fit, golden body. Something about her drove him wild, made him as sex-obsessed as a teenager hyped up on testosterone.

The windshield wipers beat out a steady rhythm, emphasizing the charged silence between them. Tallulah didn’t speak again for several minutes, and when she did, it was a curt instruction. “This is it. Slow down and turn on the next dirt road to your right.”

The unpaved road twisted and curved for at least a quarter mile. A wooden cabin appeared, surrounded by magnolias and oaks. Small, but not too rustic.

“Nice place.”

Her mouth curved into a genuine smile, the first one he’d seen. It transformed her into a radiant beauty. “Thanks. Tombi, my brother, built it. He’s a carpenter.”

One of her hands was already on the handle. She was ready to jump out and slip away into the dark night.

“Can I see you sometime?” he asked quickly, before Tallulah could make her escape. For all her bravery, she was on the skittish side. Somehow, he needed to earn her trust, discover if she harbored secrets, as he did.

She gave him a considering look. “It’s a small town. We can’t help but run in to each other again.”

Ruefully, he watched as she slammed the door shut, strode purposefully to the cabin and never once looked back. So much for making headway by acting charming and gallant. At least he knew where she lived, and that was a start.

Payton turned the truck around and went back down the driveway. You betcha I’ll run in to you, Miss Tallulah Silver. We have unfinished business.

Chapter 3 (#uc0b8ef2a-0bb7-5199-8460-a997e0596782)

Tallulah scrambled out of her vehicle, clutching her coffee cup, and joined her brother and over a dozen of their friends—mostly fellow shadow hunters—where they gathered by the timber site.

Dawn had barely broken, but the logging crew would be arriving soon. She approached her twin. “What did you find out about this property?” she asked with no preamble.