Animal Instinct Read online

  She smiled and gave the dark-haired girl a big hug. “These are great. Really expressive and loose.”

  Sukie beamed at the compliment. “Do you really think so?”

  Heidi nodded. “Definitely!”

  Sukie’s smile broadened, only to disappear and be replaced by a frown a moment later. “I wish you weren’t leaving.”

  Heidi felt a pang at the thought herself and gave the girl another hug. “I know. But I have to get back home. I can’t stay up here forever.”

  The younger girl toyed absently with the label on the bottle. “You could. I heard my mom say that the art teacher at the high school is retiring after this year, and that if they don’t find someone to take her place, they might have to drop the art classes totally.” She looked up at Heidi expectantly. “Maybe you could stay and get a job teaching art there. And I’ll be going to high school next year, so I could take your class.”

  Heidi couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not a teacher, Sukie.”

  “Sure you are! You’re teaching me and you’re great at it.” Sukie’s eyes lit up as an idea came to her. “I could even have my mom talk to the principal for you.”

  Heidi laughed. Clearly, the teenage girl had this all figured out. “I appreciate it, Sukie. Really. But I’ve got to get back to Denver . That’s my home.” Heidi had come to think of Sukie as a younger sister, and the crestfallen expression on the girl’s face made leaving that much harder. Heidi forced herself to smile. “We can email and IM all the time, though. And you can scan your drawings and watercolor paintings and send them to me.”

  “It’s not the same,” Sukie grumbled.

  No, it isn’t.“I know. But listen, I’m not leaving until next week, which means I can still give you a few more lessons. How does that sound?”

  Sukie nodded, but Heidi could see that the girl was still upset about her leaving. Deciding to change the subject, Heidi asked Sukie if she wanted to see the new painting she had finished. The other girl immediately brightened at that, and they spent the next thirty minutes talking about what Heidi should name her latest watercolor. Since Heidi had already planned on giving the younger girl the painting as a gift, she secretly wanted Sukie to be the one to give it a name.

  After Sukie left, Heidi considered packing up some of her paintings so that she could take them to the UPS store the next day, but decided she was too tired to bother with it. But while she might be ready to go to bed after the exhausting day she’d had, her stomach obviously wasn’t. Good heavens. Her stomach let out a loud growl. She’d just had dinner a little while ago. There was no way she could be hungry. Her hollow belly clearly disagreed, however.

  Opening the cabinet beside the fridge, Heidi stared at the contents inside for a moment before grabbing a box of shortbread cookies off the shelf. She took out one of the one hundred-calorie snack bags and ate while she flipped through the newest issue of Cosmo . Halfway through a sexy article entitled Go Wild With Your Guy in the Great Outdoors , she reached into the box for another bag of shortbread cookies only to find that it was empty. Frowning, she looked down at the counter and was startled to see five empty bags sitting on it. She had eaten every one of them. She cringed. She’d never binged like that before, not even back in college. The really strange thing was that she didn’t even feel stuffed. In fact, she felt like she could eat five more bags. Maybe she’d better go to bed before she did.

  Telling herself that she would work off the extra calories tomorrow, Heidi stuffed the empty bags into the box and tossed it into the trash. She picked up the magazine she had been reading and after checking the door to make sure it was locked, shut off the lights and went into the bedroom.

  * * * *

  Luke swore under his breath as he watched the girl’s car speed out of the parking lot. Okay, so maybe he shouldn’t have come right out and mentioned the whole werewolf thing quite yet. It wasn’t exactly like he could sneak up on the subject, though. The girl would obviously have figured out that something strange was going on when she saw the wound on her leg was already healing. She would have demanded answers. Even so, he should have handled it better. All he had done was make her think he was some kind of weirdo. He raked his hand through his dark hair and wondered if he should go after her, but then decided against it. Even though he really didn’t want a doctor getting a close look at her, there wasn’t anything he could do about it right now. If he showed up at the hospital, she would probably only make a scene and tell anyone who would listen that he was both a stalker and insane. That wouldn’t help.

  But if he didn’t follow her, then how was he going to find her again? Dammit, why the hell hadn’t he at least gotten her name? Or even her license plate number? He mentally kicked himself for being so stupid, but then realized that things probably weren’t as bad as he was making them out to be. There wouldn’t be a full moon for a couple of days, so he didn’t have to worry about her turning right away. Between now and then, she was going to be experiencing a lot of strange things. If he was lucky, she would end up calling him looking for answers.

  Luke hoped so, but he couldn’t waste time worrying about that right now. He had to try and track down the werewolf that had bitten her. Turning, he headed into the forest.

  While it would have been better to be in his wolf form if he came across the other were, Luke didn’t want to risk leaving himself open to an attack in the time it would take him to turn. Luckily, his sense of smell was still exceptional even when he was in human form, so following the other werewolf’s scent was easy enough.

  Moving quickly, Luke got back to the site of the attack in half an hour. He picked up the werewolf’s trail easily. Apparently, after Luke had chased him off, the were had gone even deeper into the forest. No surprise there. Pulling out his knife, Luke followed the scent.

  The trail ran crazy for a few hundred yards, like the werewolf had been running without thought. But then the were started taking a more direct route, turning back toward the populated area of the park. He had crossed a few hiking paths and some fire roads before coming to a stop beside a set of tire tracks which led to the side of a restricted access park maintenance road. Luke stared down at the tire tracks left in the dirt road. From the looks of them, the guy had been driving a truck or an SUV.

  His brow furrowed as he put away his knife. The other were was long gone. But what really bothered him was the fact that there was another werewolf in the Anchorage area in the first place. It made sense that werewolves would more likely be drawn to the wilds of Alaska , but Luke hadn’t picked up another were’s scent the whole time he had been back in town. He was tempted to assume that the other werewolf was just passing through the area. His father had told him that some werewolves were nomadic like that, constantly moving from place to place, never living in one town or city for more than a few days. But the way the guy had staged his truck on a restricted road and gone out of his way to attack someone on a popular hiking trail made Luke think the were knew his way around the area. Which meant he might actually be a local.

  Hoping that following the route the were had taken when he had first entered the forest would give him something more to go on, Luke headed in that direction. He was surprised to find that the werewolf hadn’t meandered through the forest, like he would have done if he’d been out for a run, but had instead gone directly to the Crow Pass Trail. There, Luke discovered an area were the pine needles had been pushed aside to make a cozy hollow for the were to lie in. That was more than a little strange. Not only had the werewolf deliberately gone to an area where there were bound to be hikers, but he had then lain in wait, almost as if he had been planning on attacking the first hiker who came along. It didn’t make sense.

  Shaking his head, Luke headed back into the forest to collect his own gear when he noticed something on the ground. He frowned when he realized it was a backpack. Thinking it must belong to the girl he had rescued, he walked over and picked it up. Hoping there was some form of ID inside, he unzipped it, but all h
e found were a sketchbook and some pencils, a map of the trails, a couple bottles of water, a granola bar, a radio, and a digital camera.

  As he slung it over his shoulder and continued into the forest, Luke wondered if he should call the ranger station in Girdwood and tell them that he’d found the pack, but decided against it. That would just raise questions. He would just have to wait until the girl called him.

  When the full moon came, that girl was going to turn into a wolf. The first time a person changed into a werewolf was terrifying. It had been for him, even with everything his father had told him. If the girl went through it on her own, it would likely end badly for her. His father had told him horror stories of people dying in agony as they were trapped halfway between man and wolf, too terrified to let themselves go the rest of the way, but completely unable to figure out how to go back. Luke didn’t want to think about anything like that happening to the beautiful girl he had rescued. He only hoped she would call him in time.

  Chapter 3

  Heidi let out a husky moan and burrowed deeper into her pillow as the erotic images played through her mind. Still half asleep, she was only vaguely aware of what she was doing. But at the delicious little tingle between her legs, she squeezed her thighs together, trying to ease the ache there. That only seemed to heighten her arousal even more, however, and she rolled onto her back with another moan, this one even louder. Oh God, what a dream. Even now, she had an incredible urge to slide her hand between her legs and finish off what her sleepy imagination had started.

  In her dream, she had been on her hands and knees in the middle of the forest while some hot guy took her from behind. It had all been so vivid. Beneath her, the earth had been cool and damp, comfortable under her knees and soft under her fingers as she dug into it. The smell of the fir trees had seemed so real, she had almost thought she’d been outside. The breeze had blown across her naked sweat-soaked skin, making goose bumps chase all over her body. Never had she had a dream so realistic.

  The guy’s hands on her hips had been firm but gentle, pulling her back onto his perfect cock, burying it deep inside her with every thrust. His thick shaft had filled her, and it felt so damn good that she never wanted it to end.

  With every thrust, his hips had smacked against her ass, making her feel as if he were spanking her at the same time he was pounding into her. She had cried out over and over again, her screams of ecstasy echoing through the forest. Just when it had seemed as if it couldn’t get any better, her dream lover had slid his hand around to caress her throbbing clit with his fingers.

  As he had pushed her closer and closer to climax, he leaned forward to kiss her neck, gently nipping her shoulder. The feel of his sharp teeth on her skin had driven her over the edge, wringing out one long orgasm after another. As he came inside her, she turned her head, wanting to see the identity of her extremely talented and well-endowed lover, only to discover that it was the guy who had saved her from the wolf the day before.

  That was what had awakened her. But even though she had been shocked at the man’s identity, there was no mistaking how aroused the dream had gotten her. Even now, she lay in bed panting for breath, her hand gently cupping her moist pussy, post-orgasmic quivers running through her body. She couldn’t remember ever having a dream quite that vivid before…or that erotic. Sheesh, from the way her body was trembling, it was like she had actually had an orgasm during her dream. She slid her finger along the folds of her pussy to discover that she was soaking wet. If she hadn’t had an orgasm, she had sure come close. That was definitely a first for her.

  While the dream had been incredibly hot, she couldn’t imagine why her mind had chosen that particular guy to play the role of her lover. Maybe because she had subconsciously found him so attractive. Her imagination had just naturally supplied all the extra erotic details, like the size and shape of his thick, hard shaft. She blushed as she remembered the way he had pumped that perfect cock of his in and out of her. Just thinking about it made her pussy start to throb with desire again.

  She shook her head. Okay, no more erotic Cosmo articles for her before bed. That story about having sex outdoors must have been what prompted such a crazy dream. There was no other explanation.

  Heidi’s brow furrowed, a thought suddenly occurring to her. What if sex with some hot stranger wasn’t all her mind had made up? What if she had dreamed the whole wolf attack, too? That would certainly explain the surreal nature of everything that had happened.

  Taking a deep breath, she pushed down the blanket and slowly drew up her leg. There, right where she remembered it was a barely discernable scar. She let her head fall back on the pillow with a groan. Okay, so that part hadn’t been a dream.

  She turned her head to look at the bedside clock and was shocked to see that it was four o’clock in the afternoon. Yikes! She had slept all night and more than half the day. She must have been more tired than she’d thought. So much for running all the errands she had wanted to take care of today.

  Heidi pushed the blanket down the rest of the way and swung her legs out of bed, then padded into the adjoining bathroom. As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she automatically started to squint like she normally did so she could see better, only to realize that she could see herself clearly. Sheesh, she must have been so tired last night that she’d forgotten to take out her contact lenses.

  Yawning, she unscrewed the tops off the plastic lens case and blinked in surprise when she saw her contact lenses inside. Okay, that was weird. She had worn glasses since she was ten years old, and now she suddenly didn’t need them anymore? She turned on the tap and splashed cold water on her face, then looked at her reflection again. Still twenty-twenty vision. No need to put in her contacts today.

  Deciding she would figure it out later, Heidi put on some make-up and brushed her long hair, then pulled on a T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. As she did, she eyed her long legs in the mirror and told herself that she should stop trying to figure out why that wolf’s teeth hadn’t done more damage and simply be thankful they hadn’t. She wouldn’t have wanted a nasty scar.

  As she walked back into the bedroom, she realized that there was no way she would be able to get all her paintings packed up and taken to the UPS store today. But she could at least take the watercolor she was giving Sukie to the custom frame shop. After she had something to eat, though. She was starving. And she needed caffeine.

  Going out to the kitchen, she grabbed a container of yogurt and a bottle of Starbucks Frappuccino from the fridge. Making quick work of both, she picked up her purse and the watercolor painting, then left.

  There were several customers already at the frame shop when Heidi got there, so while she waited, she browsed through the selection of frames the store had and found one that complimented the painting perfectly. She had been a little afraid that the store might not be able to get it framed before she left, but the woman she spoke to assured her that it wouldn’t be a problem.

  As she was walking back to the parking lot a little while later, the smell of food wafted over from the diner across the street and Heidi’s stomach growled. God, she could really go for a burger. Despite the fact that she had a freezer full of Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine entrees in her apartment that she needed to eat before she left, she found herself darting across the street to the diner instead. She really needed a burger all of a sudden.

  Five minutes later, Heidi was sitting in a booth reading the menu. Or trying to, anyway. For some reason, her gaze kept straying to the food in front of the group of teens at the table beside hers. If the waitress didn’t come over and take her order soon, she was afraid she might actually reach out and snatch a fry off one of their plates.

  As if reading her mind, a smiling, gray-haired waitress appeared at Heidi’s table just then. “What can I get for you, hon?” she asked as she set down a glass of water.

  Heidi glanced down at the menu. “Um, one of your traditional cheeseburgers.” Her stomach growled again. “O
n second thought,” she said, looking up at the woman, “make that a big Alaskan cheeseburger.”

  The waitress took in Heidi’s slender figure over the rim of her glasses. “That’s a full one-pound burger, hon. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have the traditional?”

  Heidi felt herself flush and she reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear as she gave the woman an embarrassed smile. “I, um, wasn’t going to eat all of it right now. I thought I’d take the rest home and have it later.”

  That seemed to satisfy the waitress because she crossed out the word “traditional” on her order pad and wrote “Alaskan” instead. “Fries okay with that?”

  Heidi nodded. “Yes, please.” She handed the menu to the woman. “Oh, and while you’re at it, can you bring me a chocolate milkshake, too?”

  That got her another odd look from the waitress, and Heidi covered her embarrassment by taking a sip of water. She didn’t normally eat so much, but for some reason, she was famished. And the picture of that milkshake had looked so good on the menu. Fortunately, the waitress brought over the chocolate milkshake right away, so Heidi sipped on that while she waited for her cheeseburger to arrive. She hadn’t had a milkshake since she was a kid, and this one was so thick and creamy and delicious that she closed her eyes and let out a little sigh of pleasure. If she had known this place made shakes this good, she would have come here a couple of times a week.

  Heidi was halfway done with her milkshake when the waitress brought over the cheeseburger she had ordered. It was so big that it took up almost the entire plate, and Heidi’s mouth watered at the sight of it.