PLAY OF PASSION

“Since we’re both up at this ridiculous hour anyway,” Drew grumbled afterward, “do you want to hike up to Wolf Point?”


Wolf Point, so named by the first wolves who’d settled in this region, offered a breathtaking view across the lakes that dotted the area. On a day like this, the sky up there would be an excruciating blue, the sun’s rays bright and harsh. Her skin tingled in sensory pleasure. “Yes, let’s.”

“Take our packs so we can camp up there?”

At her nod, he began to roll up the sleeping bags while she turned off and packed the laz-fire. “We should go back to the den tomorrow,” she said as they finished.

“Yeah.” Drew’s gaze was serious. “We left Hawke short-handed. You think we should head back now?”

Mentally reviewing who was in the den and able to fill in, she shook her head. “I have my cell—he’d have called if he needed us.” She wanted more time to explore this unexpected bond between her and Drew. Because there’d be no hiding it when they returned to the den, not with the intimacies they’d shared—and would continue to share. Wolf noses would sniff it out in about one second flat.

“Do you want to hide it?” Drew asked without warning.

Hearing the absolute neutrality of his voice, her spine went stiff. “What?”

“This. Us.”

It startled her that he’d guessed the direction of her thoughts, but her answer was immediate. “No.” She was unsure and confused, but she was no coward—not now that she’d made the decision to dance with him. More, she was proud of the male she’d chosen. Whatever happened, he was hers, and other women would do well to keep their paws off him. “I’ll give you one phone call to warn your harem you’re now off-limits.”

A surprised expression … that segued into pleased arrogance. “No one’ll dare come near me now that you’ve made a claim.” A pause. “You’re worried about the nosey parkers?”

“Maybe they’ll have worked it out of their system with Riley and Mercy,” she said in a burst of hope. “We’re two wolves—no big deal.”

Drew snorted, leaning over to pat her ass with casual proprietariness. “You’re so cute when you’re deluding yourself.” Easily dodging her responding punch on the arm, he grabbed her pack and handed it to her. “They’ll have a field day—the lieutenant who can drop a man in his tracks with nothing but the ice in her gaze, and … Drew?” He made a confused, disbelieving face.

Snorting, Indigo put her arms through the straps of her pack. “I’ve known you forever, and I still don’t understand that thing you do.”

A questioning look as he went to pick up his own pack.

“Making people think you’re harmless.” She clicked the support straps across her hips. “You didn’t answer my question, Mr. Harmless.”

“It’s a gift.” Pack on, he walked over to click the second support strap above the UC Berkeley emblem on her sweatshirt as she did the same for him.

“Thanks, Indy.” A casual comment, but right then, the blue of his eyes hit her in the heart.

He could hurt her. Really hurt her. And they’d barely taken the first step into this unexpected relationship. “You’re welcome,” she said, fighting the wolf’s wariness with the memory of how he’d teased her earlier by the stream.

Taking care of her.

Her wolf froze at the realization, and she had to consciously kick herself into gear as Drew turned to lead the way out of camp. She’d never have allowed him to care for her if he’d tried to do it straight out, but she’d been fooled by his playfulness into missing the protective drive beneath.

You’d think she’d know better by now, she thought with an inward shake of her head, but he continued to surprise her with that quicksilver mind. If she was being honest, his keen intelligence was one of the most attractive things about him—even if it did mean he had a way of catching her off guard. The thought made her frown, consider something else. “Drew?”

When he looked over, she said, “Is it because you’re the pack’s tracker? That you make such an effort to appear harmless?” It was a question she’d never thought to ask before—because he was so very good at making people forget what he was.

Drew’s hand tangled with her own, his expression solemn. “I didn’t really think about it consciously when I was growing up,” he said, “but as an adult, yeah, that’s part of it. I’m wolf—I need to be a full part of the pack.”

And, she understood, he couldn’t be that if everyone was afraid of him.

Nodding, she let it go at that—this relationship was too new to push him to share such an intensely private aspect of himself. But Drew squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, Indy. I don’t mind talking about it. Hawke and Riley make me do it on a regular basis.”

“They do?” She blinked.