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eBook Category: Erotica/Romance
eBook Description: Finding an unconscious, half-frozen, naked man-god in a snow bank would make most sex-starved women offer up their thanks to the heavens and drag him home to warm him up. But Katie Duncan isn't a typical sex-starved woman. She's a woman with a dark secret and she's been on the run. Katie has been hunted for years, but now it's time to fight back. Ian Finn wakes up with a gash on the head and his hormones on fire. Despite himself, he is irresistibly drawn to the intriguing Katie. Ian can't afford to give in to this sudden obsession--he's in a race against time to stop the predators who have been ruthlessly hunting and destroying members of his clan. The last thing Ian needs right now is this unbearable desire to run his hands over Katie's silken skin. Two fiercely independent loners, Katie and Ian clash from the minute they meet, but quickly team up when they are forced to flee from their common enemies. Both are dangerously distracted by the primal attraction between them. In the chaos of flight and battle, Katie must face a part of herself that she has guiltily suppressed for most of her life. Will the secret part of her soul that calls to a reluctant Ian Finn finally bring them together or irrevocably push them apart?

eBook Publisher: Atlantic Bridge/Liquid Silver Books, Published: 2005
Fictionwise Release Date: November 2005

91 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [647 KB], eReader (PDB) [153 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [137 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [120 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [163 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [182 KB], hiebook (KML) [344 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [218 KB], iSilo (PDB) [113 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [140 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [197 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [177 KB]
Words: 42911
Reading time: 122-171 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED
ISBN: ISBN 1-59578-149-8

November

Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Secrets crept in with the night's snowfall in the ancient Uwharrie Mountains. A form that resembled a huge ink-black wolf sat in the snow on the hillside above a shed that sheltered an SUV. If there were a lone observer on this solitary night, she might wonder at the anomaly. Wolves hadn't roamed these mountains in centuries. Nor did they grow to the size of a large pony.

Wolves that hadn't started out the evening as a human, that is.

It's damned cold out here, the creature thought, a distinctively human complaint drifting through the mind of an animal.

It was a formidable creature, twice the size of the largest wolves on record, packing at least 200 pounds on its predatory frame and standing 45 inches at the shoulder. It was lean and muscled, covered with a pitch-black pelt, epitomizing deadly grace.

In human form, however, he was the landlord of the small cabin below him.

For the past month, Ian Finn had patrolled the grounds around the little house, telling himself that he was keeping watch over his solitary tenant. In reality, he was there to gaze upon the face of a woman he had never met. A real estate agent in Blowing Rock had leased the cabin on Shadow Mountain to Katie Duncan months ago.

Another human thought crossed behind the animal's eyes. That realtor all but stalked me until I rented the cottage to that woman. I lost a chunk of privacy and then I obviously lost my mind. If there were anyone to actually see the creature at that moment, they would probably swear that the wolf sarcastically rolled its eyes and grimaced.

Ian had discovered his beautiful neighbor on one of his lonely evening runs. That night Katie had sat in the moonlight on a cliff near her home, gazing out at the mists that sank to the valleys nestled between the midnight blue mountains. Her serene face was oblivious to the presence of a mythical being hiding in the nearby blackberry bushes--which, incidentally, had managed to embed a dozen thorns in his fur that were extremely painful when he Changed back into his naked human form). Ian had felt her pain and fear as well as her wonder at the splendor of the night. He had also sensed a threat to her that he could not define. He had been suddenly enmeshed in the intoxicating and confusing mix of scents emanating from the woman.

For that moment he forgot his own sorrows as he drank in her beauty. The light of the moon turned her long blond hair to silver and the shadows played along the slim lines of her face. Unknowingly, she had turned and looked straight at him with her extraordinary golden eyes--a timeless silent angel of the wood. Though he had leapt away as if the hounds of hell were on his heels, he returned again and again, feeling oddly protective of this lone, self-possessed woman. Now this November night found him sitting in a snowbank, freezing his balls off, for the sake of a woman who did not know his face.

This has got to be one of the most idiotic things I have ever done, he thought, as snowflake after snowflake landed on his nose.

Ian knew that it was nuts for him to be in wolf form in the middle of a snowstorm. Especially since an unknown force now hunted his people across the globe with the stealthy skill of a master. The acute senses of the Were race that had served him well all of his life had awoken him earlier, informing his territorial soul that there were intruders in the woods--his woods. They were near the tiny cabin inhabited by the woman he had only glimpsed from afar. That part of the mountainside, his mountainside, was beginning to get very active and increasingly risky for him. Several of the mountain luxury getaways in the area had large dogs in outdoor kennels, which sent up frantic yelps of either fear or delight when he approached in wolf form. But when possessed by his wolf spirit, there was nothing Ian could do about spooking the animals. The lesser creatures sensed his presence immediately when he passed and went wild. The dogs' owners were justifiably nervous about the behavior of their animals. Although most of the mountain belonged to Ian, the few holdouts that would not sell their property to him were a nuisance.

Ian's work took him out of the area for long periods of time, but the repercussions of his profession could very well come home to haunt him. The latest in security technology had been installed in his residence and property, but so far he had not thought it necessary to wire the entire mountain. However, it was definitely on his to-do list after this dark night.

I just won't bother to ask the other landowners before wiring their land.

The luxury getaway homeowners would never notice. They didn't spend enough time in their second homes to get the houses even slightly shabby.

In search of the interlopers who had invaded his domain, the black wolf had inspected the entire area. The scent of danger had faded, although the large military-style boot prints from the strangers were still fresh. The tire tracks from where they had parked their vehicle a mile from the cabin recently mixed the snow, mud, and gravel into a foul stain.

There was an alarming mix of man-sweat, cologne, and gun oil in the air. The intruders had left his territory and weren't interested in Ian's house. They weren't the hunters he had been desperately searching for over the last few years. Surprisingly, they had focused on the small cabin under the evergreens.

He'd decide whether or not to warn the lovely Katie about her visitors later. Getting involved with humans wasn't something he wanted to start up again. He had his own battles to face. Dealing with people always got him into the very center of the cook pot--alone--no matter how hard he tried to do the right thing.

I need to get a hobby. Other than watching over his tenant. The wolf side of his nature was driving him to watch and protect the female who dwelt in his territory, a female who was not his mate. The human side of Ian's brain kept trying to talk sense to the wolf, telling him that she was not in danger and none of their business. But the wolf had won the argument every evening, forcing Ian into wolf form to patrol the mountain. A thin layer of menace hung over the little cabin down the hill. The danger was compelling to the wolf who roamed outside.

The snow slacked off and allowed him to see through the steaming windows of the cabin. She stood there with an animal grace in front of an easel, her golden hair flowing over the jutting breasts underneath her artist's smock. Ian regretfully turned towards home, beginning the two mile run through the black and white countryside. The flannel blanket that lay in his armchair in front of one of the fireplaces in his home beckoned right now. A crackling fire, an excellent book, and a snifter of warm brandy ... life would be good.

But life would be better if Katie were waiting for him in front of his fireplace, her long, golden body stretched out for his pleasure on his thick New Zealand sheepskin. He wouldn't wait to shed his clothes. He would fall upon her to suck and caress her beautiful breasts. He would savor each perfect nipple, taking his time pleasuring her as he drowned in the exquisite agony of finally running his hands over the silk of her skin. And when she began to writhe against him, her arousal well stoked, he would then trace his tongue slowly down her flat belly to the tangle of gold curls that topped her pussy. His mouth watered at the thought of tasting her.

That could never happen, a silent, stern voice said within his head.

Ian had resigned himself years ago to the occasional no-strings-attached affair, carefully protecting his heart with a concentrated effort to maintain a safe distance from feelings of commitment to any one woman. Katie wasn't the kind of woman he would be able to walk away from. He knew this instinctively. With Were or with human, Were-Wolves mated for life. There were very few of his people left in the world, fewer still since the killings and disappearances began. He had not yet found a mate to stir his soul among them. He had dated only human women in the last few years, but these sterile relationships inevitably ended in disaster, as a relationship with Katie was destined to end. There was a legend among his people that there were a few human women that could successfully mate with a Were, but he considered it just that--a legend, nothing more than a fairy tale. He could not get involved with anyone who might stir these feelings that were inextricably a part of his very essence, his being. It would kill him when she inevitably fled from what he was.

I need to fuck somebody ... now ... anybody ... but her. The wolf that he was had become inflamed with lust and longing while he worked his way down the path through the woods. Torn between desire and duty, He was struggling so deeply within himself that he scarcely noticed the shadow that lurked behind a rock outcropping on the barely visible path. The shadow raised a sleek pistol and fired through the curtains of the storm. The bullet bounced off of the back of the wolf's skull and darkness overtook his consciousness.

The assailant approached and stood thoughtfully in the snow next to the still-breathing figure of the wolf. He raised the gun to fire again, this time into the animal's skull. A short call from one of his companions came down from behind the gunman and he pulled up his weapon, unfired.

"You are definitely not a golden wolf, are you? This should make life interesting for the old man." With a snort of self-mocking laughter, the gunman turned on his heel and headed in the direction of his companions, leaving the wolf in the snow, alive.

The gunman did not see the lightning flash of blue that ripped through the snow-flurried air when Ian's body began to morph back to its human self. He knew it would happen, however. Leaving this newest player in the game alive suited the stranger. The girl needed all of the help she could get.

The growl of the start of vehicles broke the heavy silence. Moments later, the two black Suburbans began the trek down the mountain, crisscrossing the terrain as the men evaluated the possible escape routes and security measures.

As his attackers wound away out of the woods, leaving behind a faint echo, the wolf rolled into the snow and continued to glow with an eerie blue light as the animal's form faded, writhed and turned, impossibly morphing into the form of a nude man lying in the snow.