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  "Good afternoon," he greeted me.

  "Good afternoon," I returned as I walked up to him.

  "Ready for a hike?" he wondered.

  "Sure, Mike, if that's you're real name," I commented.

  His smile faltered and he raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't it be?" he asked me.

  "I talked with Mr. Patterson and he said there's only been one man by the name of that at the lodge, and that was a long time ago," I told him.

  Mike glanced past me at the bag on my shoulders. "And you must believe I'm lying or you wouldn't be carrying such a heavy bag," he mused.

  "I did just have my heart broken by another guy last night," I pointed out.

  He bitterly smiled. "And now I'm just like him?" he guessed.

  The proper response would have been a firm 'yes.' "No," I replied, surprising us both. It was that damn smile of his. I didn't want to hate him. "I mean, I don't think you're that bad," I rephrased.

  Mike saw me weakening. My anger was slowly replaced with a giddy school-girlishness that threatened to hug him rather than hit him. He stepped to the side, half-turned toward the trail, and offered me his arm. "Shall we?" he invited me.

  I frowned at him, but it had all the menace of a kitten. "You haven't answered any of my accusations," I reminded him.

  "I will, but a man is more than a name. Let me show you who I am," he replied.

  My eyes flickered between his arm and his kind face. I sighed and grasped his arm. "All right, but no funny stuff. I have a rock," I warned him.

  "I'll be careful," he promised, and off we went into the woods.

  Chapter 5

  I had to admit Mike really did know his way around the trails. We climbed and meandered our way over logs, through brush, and under branches. He pointed out every interesting rock, tree, and butterfly that we crossed. All my suspicions and anger slipped away into the peaceful bliss of his company and the quiet woods. I hung onto his every word with the combined attention of a brown-noser and fan-girl. He didn't mind when I leaned against his arm, or when I admired his stunning face as we slipped in and out of the shadows under the trees.

  The afternoon slipped by without my knowing, but eventually I glanced around and realized I had no idea where we were other than at a wide spot on the path where we could stand side-by-side. I glanced behind us, but saw not a chimney or roof of the lodge or cabins. There was only the trees and their lengthening shadows signaling the end of the day.

  "Um, shouldn't we turn back?" I asked him.

  Mike turned to me and I saw his smile was replaced with thin, pale, pressed lips. He grasped my hands and looked me in the eyes. "I want to ask you to stay out with me this night. There's something I want to show you that I've never shown anyone else. It's my surprise for you," he told me.

  I raised an eyebrow. "Your surprise is a night in the woods?" I asked him.

  He nodded. "Yes, in the woods, but not just that. We can either head down right now and reach the cabins just at sunset, or we can head up to a meadow I know of. It's-well, it's where I live," he revealed.

  I blinked at him. "Live? Then you're really not-"

  "-one of the cabin renters? No, I live up here away from people. Sometimes I go down to see the new visitors to the cabins, but I rarely speak to anyone. I thought I couldn't be around anyone without feeling-well, without feeling alone, but you've proven me wrong. Now I want to show you something that's important to me, and I. . .I want you to share it with me for a long time," he explained, or at least partially explained.

  "But you live up here? Isn't that illegal?" I wondered.

  "It is if someone catches me, and they haven't caught me for a long, long time," he replied.

  My hands shook and my eyes widened as I was hit with a revelation. "You're. . .you're really that Mike Spalding?"

  "I am him," he admitted.

  "But how? You're what, thirty? And that was a long time ago," I pointed out.

  "Add eighty years onto that thirty and you just about have my age," he told me.

  "Then y-you're a-?" My fear stuck the word in my throat.

  "A werewolf? Yes."

  I wasn't sure whether to laugh in his face or run, but the seriousness of his expression told me laughing wouldn't be wise and running wouldn't get me far. "You're serious, aren't you?" I wondered.

  "Very serious. I am a werewolf," he confirmed.

  "Then you. . .you killed all those people before you came up here?" I asked him.

  Mike turned his face away from me. "Yes. That was before I could control myself. Now it's different. Now I can avoid killing people. When the urge to kill compels me then I only hunt the deer in this forest. People think there are wolves here, but it's only me," he revealed.

  "I-I think I need to sit down and take off my bag," I told him.

  He smiled. "Just as long as you don't get out that rock in your pack," he teased as he helped me over to a boulder on the side of the trail.

  I sat down and stared dumbly at the ground. My perfect man wasn't so perfect after all. "A werewolf. . ." I whispered.

  His voice bespoke a deep, bitter sadness. "Yes, now and forever," he replied.

  I glanced up into his sorrowful eyes. "No cure?" I guessed.

  "No cure. There's only learning to cope," he told me.

  "And you want me to share your life with you for a long time? How long are we talking?" I wondered.

  He sheepishly smiled at me. "For the rest of our lives?" he squeaked. He was adorable when he squeaked.

  I looked slyly at him. "Are you trying to propose to me?" I asked him.

  "Well, in a roundabout way," he admitted.

  I furrowed my brow as I thought about what he was asking. Then I realized I couldn't wrap my mind around the idea of being a werewolf. "Would we have to stay up here all the time?" I wondered.

  "No. With you at my side I believe I could leave this place forever, and we could go anywhere we wanted," he told me.

  "And we would live a long time?" I guessed.

  "Yes, though I don't know how long," he replied. He knelt in front of me and looked into my uneasy eyes. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I've felt this connection since the first I saw you in the lodge. Even if you leave me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you did, I will continue to love you until my dying day."

  I smiled and set a gentle hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch. "I don't think I want to leave you now, or any time soon," I told him.

  His eyes opened and they were filled with hope. "You're sure about your decision? You don't have any doubts?" he questioned me.

  I laughed and shook my head. "No, but if you keep asking I might change my mind," I teased. He smiled and wrapped me in a bone-crushing, lifting-my-feet-off-the-ground hug. The rock and pipe in my bag dug into my vertebrae. "Air," I choked.

  "Oh! Sorry!" he apologized, and quickly set me down. He took my hands and hurriedly guided me up the path. "Now I want to show you the surprise," he told me.

  I laughed at his school-boy eagerness. "All right, just don't pull my arm off," I scolded him.

  Mike guided me higher up the trail. The path narrowed and disappeared at a few points, but Mike's steps never faltered nor swayed. The path steepened and just at sunset, when I thought I couldn't go any farther, the path crested and widened into a meadow. The meadow was circular and bordered on all sides by large trees. In the very center of the meadow was a large, flat stone, and around that stone was a carpet of beautiful purple flowers. Their large heads swayed in the last breeze of the day. Mike led me over to the rock where he set me down against the base with a rug of flowers beneath me. He himself stood by my side and swept his hands over the scene.

  "What do you think of this place?" he wondered.

  "I think it's beautiful," I told him.

  He smiled. "I'm glad to hear you say that. I planted these flowers myself from seeds," he revealed.

  My eyes widened in awe. "All of them?" I wondered.

&nbs
p; Mike gave a nod. "All of them, but I've had a lot of years to learn to cultivate, and now the soil is good enough they grow on their own without my help," he explained.

  "What kind are they?" I asked him.

  "Wolf's bane," he replied.

  I snorted. "Of course."

  We sat there for a long moment basking in the setting sun. The light faded and a full moon rose in the night sky, but I wasn't afraid. On the contrary, seated there amongst the flowers I felt very relaxed. A strange, heady feeling slipped over me and lulled me into a sort of half-sleep. I tried to shake it off, but it just each minute of night it stronger.

  I shifted and moaned when a rush of heat swept over my body. "I-I feel strange," I told Mike.

  "It's the scent of the flowers calming your thoughts. Let it in," he whispered.

  I did as he suggested and leaned back against the stone. The scent overwhelmed my senses and my mind could hardly comprehend the physical changes that were taking place all over my body. I felt my clothes stretch and heard them tear as my muscles thickened and expanded. I raised my hand and watched the fingers lengthen and the nails sharp to fine points. I knew I should have been terrified, but I only felt a sense of freedom and power. I gasped for breath as my body was soaked in a deep, hot heat. I grabbed the collar of my shirt and tore it down to reveal my swollen, expanding breasts. They strained against the shirt and I groaned as the heat pooled between my legs.

  My voice was sultry and full of need. "Mike," I breathed.

  He sat down beside me and nuzzled my neck. His hot breath tingled my excited flesh. "Wolves mate for life, and werewolves are no exception," he whispered.

  The word werewolf had deep meaning for me now. Something ancient and carnal arose inside me and I raised my eyes to the full moon overhead. I felt my heart pounding in my chest and my body covered in sweat. He lay me down atop the flowers and covered my body with his. His hands brushed against me, tingling and teasing my skin. I groaned and rubbed against him. My breasts pressed against his chest and he tore my shirt away. He wrapped his warm lips over my buds and suckle my breasts while my pants split open at the seams and fell off. My underwear tore apart and I was left naked beneath him.

  His breaths came out in hot, low growls and his clothes tore as fur sprouted from his body. He raised himself and howled to the moon as his face stretched into a muzzle full of sharp, white teeth. His golden eyes gaze at my and I was seared by their heat. He tossed aside what remained of our clothes and plunged himself inside my warm, willing body. My clawed hands grasped his shoulders and I arched my back at the pleasure of his filling me.

  My own face stretched and transformed. My sense of smell was elevated. I could smell the sweat of our lust and it increased my own passion and desire. He took me hard and fast, thrusting in and out with the power of the werewolf. Each penetration sent tremors of orgasm through my body. It felt like a hundred hands were touching and stroking my body, teasing me and seducing me. Fur sprouted from my flesh and my feet stretch into clawed paws. Every change of muscle brought on a new level of sensual pleasure. I was covered in sweat and heat, and a thousand passions tingled my flesh.

  We growled and grunted, pushing and pressing our bodies against each other. The sounds of our love-making drifted across the beautiful field and stretched upward into the heavens. The moon was our father and watched us its children consummate our love for each other. My body was awash in the delicious pleasures of our wild sexual romp. We were no longer as humans, but as wild aniamsl intent on gratifying our feral pleasures. Sweat soaked my fur-covered skin and I dug my claws deep into his back as he penetrated me again and again. Each push sent thrills through my flesh and groans from my panting lips. He thrust us closer and closer to our climax. My body trembled with the wave of lust that threatened to overwhelm me.

  My eyes widened when the waves washed over my body, slow at first but more persistent. I couldn't hold back the howl that erupted from my long snout as I reached my peak of pleasure. He thrust harder into me, sending me again and again into the bliss of orgasm. I squirmed and clawed at his back as he pushed harder and deeper into me, pushing me further into a madness of pleasure I could never have imagined. Finally he reached his own and I felt him spill into me.

  He collapsed beside me and pulled me, panting and sweaty, into his strong, furry arms. I snuggled into his thick fur and soothingly growled at him. He returned the growl and nuzzled the top of my head between my pointed ears. We fell asleep like that, and when we woke up the next day it would be to a long, happy life together.

  For all books by Mac Flynn visit her All Romance author's page

  or visit Mac Flynn's website.

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