Page 4 of Snowbound with the Alpha Wolf
Adrian would trap her in her human form with the temptation of his muscled, strong body and longsessions of lovemaking. She would lose her very self in his arms, forgetting her own identity, forgetting what shewas.
Free.
He bent his head, nuzzling her neck, giving her skin a slow, deliberate lick. Her nipples hardened and ached as his warm breath feathered over her chilled skin. Darcy clenched herthighs.
“Stopthat.”
Satisfaction swam in his gaze as he liftedhis head. Adrian released her. “Still vulnerable to my touch,Darcy.”
As he resumed his seat, she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets to hide their trembling. Or prevent throttlinghim.
Adrian’s guards would race inside the room and bind her if she dared to harm their alpha. His pack would not hesitate to die for theirleader.
Such loyalty would have ordinarily gainedher respect. With Adrian, it only served to make her even more wary of hispurpose.
Darcy pointed to the elegant clock on the fireplace mantel. “Time’s wasting, Adrian. I promised you two weeks. Are you going to play games or tell me what you want me todo?”
Anything but share your bed. Not that.Please.
But a different tension tightened his expression. Not sexual need, forhis gaze narrowed as he looked at a paper on hisdesk.
“I need you to help me find a buried treasure hidden on the grounds where my former packlived.”
Darcy blinked. Had he asked her to strip and dance an Irish jig, she couldn’t have been more shocked. “Helphow?”
“You can fly. You can shift into anylifeform.”
Gaze guarded, he waited. Darcy drew in a breath. Adrianknew she was a Changeling Shifter, capable of shifting into anything from a wolf to a tinyhousefly.
What he didn’t know was how she gained the energy to do all that shifting. That would remain her littlesecret.
“So? You need a mole to dig foryou?”
“Not quite. More like a bat.” A gleam lit his gaze. “I do hope you’re not afraid of dark, crampedplaces.”
He pickedup a paper from the desk. Curious, she joined him. It was a map of Colorado, and his former home was highlighted inyellow.
“I need your help to retrieve a snow crystal.” His mouth thinned. “The crystal is small but contains powerful magick. It was hidden before I freed the pack from Lars, but I had no chance to retrieveit.”
After picking up the map, Adrian tapped the edge againstthe edge of his hiking boot. “It’s stored in the oldmine.”
She frowned. “You hid it. Why ask for my help in getting it back? You’re the one who cast the warding on the mine to keep Skins and Othersaway.”
“I can’t get to it. I’d need a twenty-foot ladder to reach it.” He smiled slowly. “Or a Changeling Shifter who can shift into abat.”
If that was all he required, thesetwo weeks would be a breeze. A small part of her felt disappointed he wanted her shifting abilities and nothingmore.
“I can shift into a bat.” Darcy shrugged. “Easy. Is that all youneed?”
“No. I require more of you.” A slow, knowing smile. “Later, when the crystal is safe in my possession, I’ll pursue the other reason I want you withme.”
Unsmiling, he studied her as a wolfstudied prey he wished to devour. A delicious shiver snaked down her spine. Only, the way Adrian planned to devour her had to do with her gettingnaked.
“Don’t be so confident, Adrian. When are weleaving?”
“Two days from now. Since I doubt you packed winter clothing, I’ll have my assistant shop for you.” He caressed her body with his gaze, as if undressing her with his eyes. “You’reabout a size fourteen, Ibelieve.”
Darcy didn’t respond. Instead, she went to the large, framed photos Adrian had hung on the office wall. They were all from Silver Sleigh, his former home, the land owned by Lars Denton, his former alpha. After Adrian had returned to Silver Sleigh, powerful and leading his own pack, he’d destroyed Lars and taken over the remainder of thepack.
