“Succubus, like a sorceress. She’s been setting traps and harassing the town. No mention of dark magic in your travels?”
“No, but I’m just starting out after being hunkered down all winter. What’s she look like?”
“Like some fairy princess, but she’s got the heart of an evil queen.”
“You’ve seen her, then?”
“I’ve only heard from those who have.”
The old woman sniffed toward my soap again, closing her eyes. “You got dried snowdrops in here?”
“I don’t remember what particular ingredients went in that batch. They are all-natural, though.”
The peddler winked. “Good girl. Keep your secrets close. I’ll take all of these and put in an order for a dozen more when I stop here again.”
“Excellent. I’ll take all the essential oils you can spare today. By the way, I’m Willow. Nice to meet you.”
She grinned at me and held out her hand. “Call me Rika.”
Chapter5
BRODY
After watching Willow head back to town on the ATV, I head into the mountains as my wolf. For the next twelve hours, I hunted far from town to escape the wind blowing her scent to me. She hadn’t suffered any serious injury when I found her on that ledge but I nearly had a fucking heart attack. The ledge was unstable at best. It could’ve crumpled from beneath her at any time. Adding my weight to it had only placed her in more danger. I release a deep, guttural howl. I would have lost her. Again.
I was on her back step by midmorning the following day. I had to see her. It was as if a giant magnet pulled me to her.
Willow pushed her back door open and pinned me with a look that said she wanted to kill me but kiss me too.
“Come on in.”
“You look beautiful.” I dragged my eyes over her delicious body. “Turn around. Slowly.” Willow wore a white halter top with a deep V-neck and no discernable sign of a bra. Under my gaze, her pretty pink nipples hardened beneath the sheer cotton. Snug black shorts clung to her perfect ass. There was no way she could possibly be wearing panties.
This was not typical Sleepy Briar spring attire.
“Took you long enough to get here. I’ve got to run to Barrow,” she said.
“Dressed like that?”
“It’s Barrow.”
“My point exactly. Barrow makes any images you have of the Wild West look like a tidy theme park.” My hand slid up her back, feeling her shiver under my touch. I fingered her halter tie. It’d be so easy to pull the knot loose and watch the ties fall away, revealing her magnificent breasts.Too much, too soon.My cock twitched. Wearing jeans was a mistake.
“I need supplies,” she said.
“Now?”
“I can’t just wait around for you to show up. You want to come with?” She sidestepped around me, heading down the steps.
I wanted to fuck her senseless, not watch her shop.But I’d been wanting to do the former for so many years, the wait probably wouldn’t kill me. We should be taking things slow anyway. That was what I’d come here to tell her.
Hanging her returned thong from yesterday on the back doorknob, I pulled the door closed behind us. Looking at Willow, waiting for me on the driveway around the back of her house, I froze.
She stood next to Sleepy Briar’s most rusted vintage pickup truck. It was the kind of old green Ford that would be pretty in a picture with flowers growing out of where the removed engine block had been, like, forty years ago.
“What is that?” I stalked over to her, wincing from the way my cock wedged up against my jeans.
“My new truck. What does it look like?”