Animal Instinct Page 18

  At that point, Luke explained how Sukie had seen him at her apartment building and told him what had happened to Heidi.

  The blond-haired detective who had introduced himself as Chase Ericson eyed Luke thoughtfully. “And you didn’t think to mention all this to the police officers who were at the Teeland residence?”

  Heidi could see that Luke did his best to look chagrined. “I’m sorry. I know I should have, but I wasn’t thinking straight, I guess.” He glanced at Heidi. “I was so worried about Heidi that all I could think about was getting to her as fast as I could. Sukie jumped in the car with me to show me where Heidi had been taken, and it wasn’t until we got here that I thought about having Sukie use my cell phone to call for help.”

  The two detectives frowned at that, but prompted Heidi to continue.

  She told them how Ryan had dragged her off to the cabin, ranting and saying crazy things the whole time. She tried to keep the details of her escape on the vague side, but the detectives weren’t buying it.

  “Tell me again how you got out of the cabin,” said Detective Ericson.

  Heidi felt Luke’s arm tighten around her waist. “Ryan left me alone for a few minutes, so I took a chance and escaped. The door was locked, so I went out the window,” she said.

  The blond detective lifted a brow. “The door was locked, but the windows were open?”

  “No,” she said. “I had to use a chair to break the window, then climb out.”

  He nodded thoughtfully “I see. And he chased you?”

  Oh God, they don’t believe me.“Yes,” she said, trying to sound as sincere as she could. “I didn’t think I’d get away from him, but he never caught up with me.”

  The detective wrote something down in his notebook, then turned his attention to Luke. “And that’s when you ran into Ms. Gibson? As she was running away from Ackerman?”

  Luke nodded. “That’s right.”

  Ericson looked like he was going to ask something else but just then, several of the police officers who had gone into the woods came back. The two detectives went over to talk to them, leaving Heidi and Luke alone. She listened in as they all compared notes.

  After a few minutes, the blond-haired detective came back over to her and Luke. “Ms. Gibson, the officers just discovered Ackerman’s body at the bottom of a ravine not far from here. Do you have any idea how he might have gotten there?”

  Heidi did her best to look surprised. “Body? Is he…dead?” At the detective’s nod, she shook her head. “He must have fallen or something when he was chasing me, I guess. I was running so fast, I didn’t notice.”

  Ericson nodded. “You’re probably right. The autopsy will tell us for sure, but he was pretty beat up, so it fits.”

  Heidi felt herself relax as Detective Ericson started to walk away, only to tense again when he stopped and turned back.

  “By the way, I’m just curious,” he said. “How exactly did Ackerman end up chasing you through the woods completely naked?”

  She glanced at Luke. They hadn’t talked about that. “Um…” she swallowed hard. “I’m not sure. He was acting crazy. I can only assume that he was planning on raping me.” That wasn’t really a lie. If she hadn’t gotten away from him, Ryan would have forced himself on her at some point, she was sure of it. She let out a little shiver at the thought.

  That seemed to satisfy the detective because he didn’t ask any more questions.

  “That’s all for now,” he said. “The paramedics will want to check you out. Once they give the all clear, we’re going to need the two of you to come down to the station and fill out some paperwork.”

  “Of course,” Luke said.

  As the detective walked off to talk to the other cops, Luke led Heidi over to where Sukie was standing with her parents. Anita Teeland and her husband, Bob, couldn’t thank Heidi enough for helping Sukie escape.

  “I don’t know how we can ever repay you for what you did,” the other woman said, giving Heidi a warm hug.

  “It was the least I could do,” Heidi told her. “Sukie got kidnapped because of me. I’m just glad she was able to get away.”

  Anita gazed at her daughter lovingly. “Though I would rather she hadn’t come back here with Luke.”

  Sukie opened her mouth to protest, but Luke cleared his throat. “I’m afraid that was my fault, Anita,” he said. “I was so worried about Heidi that I didn’t even think about how dangerous it was for Sukie. I’m really sorry, but I just wasn’t thinking.”

  “And I locked myself in his truck and called you as soon as he went to rescue Heidi, Mom,” Sukie pointed out.

  “Yes, you did,” her mother agreed. “And right now, I’m just so happy you’re okay, Sukie, that I’m not even angry with you. Or Luke.” She smiled at Heidi and Luke. “The police said they’re done with their questions and the paramedics have already checked Sukie out, so we’re going to get her home. I’m glad you’re okay, Heidi.”

  “Me, too,” Sukie said, moving forward to hug Heidi again. “Oh, and don’t worry about the whole werewolf thing,” she whispered. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  Before Heidi could reply, Sukie turned and hurried to catch up with her parents. Luke slipped his arm around Heidi, pulling her close.

  “Do you think our secret really is safe with her?” he asked.

  Heidi watched as Sukie climbed in the back of the minivan, then lifted her hand to return the younger girl’s wave. “You know, I do,” she said. Looking up at Luke, she saw that he was still frowning. “Luke, really, I don’t think we have to worry about her.”

  He nodded. “I believe you. I was actually thinking about something else.”

  It was her turn to frown. “What?”

  “I just realized what that detective said.” At her look of confusion, he added, “They’re going to do an autopsy on Ackerman.”

  It took a second to sink in, but when it did, Heidi gasped. “Will they figure out that he’s a werewolf?”

  Luke shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’ll talk to my dad about it, but I would imagine that if they discovered anything unusual about his blood or DNA, they would probably just write it off as a genetic abnormality.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “Regardless, nothing about Ackerman can be traced back to us, so our secret is safe.”

  Heidi hugged him back. “Good. Because I just want this all to be over.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “It is. I promise.”

  Chapter 12

  “You know,” Heidi said, her voice a little breathless. “We really shouldn’t be in here doing this. Our guests are waiting for us.”

  Luke chuckled, the husky sound sending little shivers all over her body. “Well, if you keep moving up and down on me like that, Mrs. McCall, they won’t have to wait long.”

  She laughed, the use of her married name making her feel all warm inside. It wasn’t the first time Luke had called her “Mrs. McCall” since they had become husband and wife that afternoon. In fact, he had whispered her new name in her ear while they’d been on the dance floor just a little while ago when he’d suggested that they go someplace private so they could be alone. Heidi had been more than eager to be alone with him, too, so she hadn’t protested when he’d taken her hand and led her out of the ballroom to the small retiring room down the hall. The room was usually reserved for the bride and her attendants as a place where they could put their purses and go to check their make-up, but she and Luke had found another, more naughty use for it. Of course, when Heidi figured out what Luke was up to, she had protested at first.

  “Anyone could walk in,” she had told him.

  But after a long, drugging kiss and a husky, “I need to be inside you,” she had surrendered with a throaty purr.

  Now, she was straddling her husband’s lap, her wedding gown bunched up around her waist while she rode up and down on his thick cock. Luke was right. He leaned close to kiss her neck. As fantastic as what they were doing felt
, she knew they weren’t going to be in the room for much longer. She was going to be start coming any second. In fact, knowing that someone could walk in on them at any minute only served to tip her over the edge that much quicker.

  Heidi would have screamed out her pleasure, but remembering where they were, she instead bent forward and closed her mouth over Luke’s so that her cries were muffled. He tightened his hands on her hips and let out a groan as he found his own release.

  Lifting her head, Heidi gazed down at him. “Wow,” she breathed.

  Luke grinned. “My thoughts exactly, Mrs. McCall.” He slid his hand in her hair and pulled her close for another intoxicating kiss before releasing her. “But I suppose you’re right. We should get back to the reception before someone comes looking for us.”

  She leaned close to kiss him again. “I don’t know. Do you think they’d miss us if we just left now?”

  He chuckled. “I think people would notice if the bride and groom left before they even cut the cake.”

  She sighed. “You’re probably right.”

  Reluctantly climbing off his lap, she smoothed the skirt of her voluminous satin gown, grateful it didn’t look too wrinkled.

  “Did I tell you that you look beautiful in that dress?”

  Heidi looked up to see Luke grinning at her. “I think you may have said it once or twice, but you can say it a few more times, if you want. I don’t mind,” she said, giving him a smile as she took in his tall form. “You look pretty darn good yourself in that tux.”

  Actually, he looked sinfully handsome in it. Heidi watched him straighten his jacket. She couldn’t believe how in love she was with him. Or how perfectly everything had come together. She had moved in with him right after the whole episode with Ryan Ackerman. They had quickly put all of that behind them, something made a lot easier when the autopsy on Ryan had apparently come back normal. And Sukie had kept her promise to never breathe a word about their secret. To Heidi’s surprise, the girl never even brought it up when they were alone. It was like Sukie had vowed never to utter the word werewolf aloud again.

  Of course, Heidi’s parents had been a little surprised when she had called them to say that she would be staying in Alaska permanently. But they had been very happy that she had found someone she loved so much. They hadn’t even made a fuss about bringing everyone up to Anchorage for the wedding.

  Luke had asked her to marry him less than a week after she had moved in with him. She hadn’t even needed to think about it, but had immediately dragged him off to bed to show him exactly how much she wanted to marry him.

  Walking over to him, Heidi wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss. He was the most wonderful man in the world. How had she gotten so lucky? “I love you,” she said softly.

  He cupped her face in his hand. “I love you, too, Heidi McCall. More than anything.”

  Lowering his head, he kissed her again, a long, intoxicating kiss that left her dizzy. Despite the fact that they’d just made love a few minutes ago, she already wanted him again. And by the way his body was reacting to her, then Luke wanted her, too. She was just wondering if they might be able to hide out a little while longer when a knock sounded on the door. Heidi turned just as her matron of honor poked her head in the room.

  “I thought you two might be in here,” Eliza said, giving them a knowing smile. “We’ve been looking all over for you. Everyone is waiting for you to cut the cake.”

  Hunter appeared in the doorway to slip his arm around his wife, a grin on his face. “We can stall them if you want.”

  Luke looked at Heidi, a sexy glint in his eye and a brow lifted in question, but before she could reply, Sukie appeared in the doorway. Dressed in a periwinkle blue gown similar to Eliza’s, she looked very mature.

  “There you guys are!” the younger girl said. “Some of the guests were saying that you two had already left for your honeymoon. But I told them that there’s no way you would leave without cutting the cake and throwing the bouquet.”

  Heidi smiled at her bridesmaid. “We’d never dream of it.” She looked at Luke. “Would we?”

  “Never.”

  She laughed. “Shall we go?”

  He grinned. “After you, Mrs. McCall.”

  THE END