Davies, Corinne - Wrapped in Fur [3xtasy Lake 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

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Colwyn Marshall stood in the bathroom rubbing his hair with a towel when his phone started ringing.
Why the hell would someone be calling at this time of night?
It had to be Vencel with a last minute change to the plans they were working on. It certainly wouldn’t be a date, because he couldn’t remember the last time he had one of those. The only thing that saved him from having blue balls was a monthly trip to Toronto to go barhopping. That usually took care of any immediate needs. It wasn’t anywhere near fulfilling, but it took the edge off. He’d come to terms long ago with the fact that this was how his life would be. A long string of meaningless fucks because the intense connection he longed for once was no longer there.

A quick glance at the number he didn’t recognize, and he almost didn’t bother answering it. If it was a telemarketer calling at ten at night, he might snap. “Yes. Who is this?”

“Um, Colwyn? Ah, hi…It’s Brand. I know I must be the last person you’d expected to hear from.”

Colwyn recognized the voice immediately, and it felt like he’d taken a punch to the stomach. Ten years had passed since he’d heard this voice. How many times had he wished he had the nerve to call but had been afraid of the reaction or rejection?

“You still there?” Brand asked.

“Yeah, sorry there was a bad connection for a moment. You doing well? I heard you ended up in Vancouver.”

“Um yeah, it’s okay here. Except, it feels like sometimes it never stops raining at times. I do bookwork and accounts for a firm here. I’m an accountant, who’da thought, huh?” A forced laugh from Brand proved this conversation was growing uncomfortable for him. Colwyn could hear the hesitation in Brand’s voice and hated the stupid direction they were going in. They used to be able to talk for hours and if there was a lull in conversation it was never uncomfortable.

“What are you up to?”

“I'm an architect. I worked in Toronto for a few years and then I got a job with a new company up here in Ecstasy. We’re working on designs for environmentally friendly houses that regular people can afford.”

“That sounds fascinating. I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well.”

I’m not, it’s been ten years and I miss your friendship.
The words caught in Colwyn’s throat. He couldn’t bring himself to say them now, no more than he could back then. After the accident, Brand had run to the other side of the country. He probably had a nice, meek little wife who wouldn’t play any of the games he and Brand had fantasized about. Any more of this strained small talk and he’d go dive into the lake and see how deep he could go before he ran out of air. He wanted to get off the phone.

“What did you call for, Brand?”

“I need you to look in on my aunt for me. She called and told me about some woman she has staying with her. She wouldn’t give me any details, and I’m afraid that this woman is trying to take advantage of her.”

Colwyn winced when he heard the reason. Of course Brand wouldn’t call to
talk
to him. There had to be another reason to call. Brand wouldn’t pick up the phone, after a decade, to tell him that he missed their friendship. “Yeah, of course I’ll check in on her, but you know your aunt isn’t some senile old woman. She can still kick ass if she wants to.”

“I know, but I worry about her, and I’m so far away.”

“That was your choice, man. You didn’t have to run like you did.”

“I didn’t have any choice. You know what happened.”

“Yeah I do, and I stuck around and faced the repercussions. I didn’t run away from my family and people who loved me.”

The silence on the phone was deafening and Colwyn wanted to kick himself in the ass for shooting his mouth off like that. He thought that he had worked through his anger from the tragedy that ended their friendship.

“I know,” Brand finally said. “Listen, if you could talk to my aunt and check in on her, I’d really appreciate it. I know I don’t have the right to ask anything of you. If I thought I could trust anyone else then I would, but I don’t.”

That was the problem. Brand didn’t trust anyone and never had. He had run thinking the entire town would turn on them, but they hadn’t. After the accident, the town had rallied around Colwyn, especially since Brand had run away. Colwyn knew Brand had always felt like an outsider in a town where mythical beings outnumbered the humans about five to one. If only he’d opened his eyes and realized that he was loved as well as anyone else. Brand always had trouble believing he was worthy of love.

“Hey, of course I’ll check in on her. I’ll go over in the morning to make certain that she’s all right and check up on this mysterious visitor.”

“Thanks, man. I really don’t know how to repay you?”

“I would do anything for a friend. You know that.”

“Am I still a friend, Colwyn? I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me.”

“I did, for a long time, but I couldn’t hold on to that forever.”

“I’m going to come to the lake for a few days and talk her into moving out west with me. Why don’t we have a coffee together?”

“Yeah, that would be great.” Colwyn banged the back of his head against the wall.
That would be fucking horrible.
Brand wanted to take his one link to this town away. If he did, then he would have no reason to come back. That would be the end of every foolish dream he held on to. He moved back to Ecstasy Lake hoping that one day they would find themselves here with a beautiful woman to share. They said their goodbyes and then hung up the phone.

Chapter Three

Colwyn didn’t know what to expect when he pulled in the long driveway leading to the antique shop, but spotting a pair of shapely legs dangling from a tree near the road wasn’t it. He slowed down the truck and lowered the window. The crisp morning air tingled against his cheeks, and his breath puffed out in a cloud. What the hell was she doing? A pair of big, furry boots hung from a branch in the tree. Colwyn looked closer and realized they were attached to a body perched on a high branch. A woman was tying what appeared to be ribbons to the branch above her. She looked like she might fall at any moment.

She wore a high-necked, long coat that looked warm, but her cheeks appeared flushed. All that dark red, curly hair and perfect ivory skin might explain why the color in her cheeks stood out. She would be sensitive to the elements.
I bet she gets covered in freckles in the summer.
Inexplicably, his heart pounded in a way it hadn’t for years. Something about her drew him in, and the attraction he felt was undeniable. She was so covered up he fantasized about peeling off all those layers and seeing what lay underneath. Better yet, he could sit here and imagine that under that high-neck wool coat she wore a tiny bit of lingerie from the latest Victoria’s Secret catalogue. With her coloring, he could imagine her in almost anything. Hell, she could wear a sack and still look pretty.

The woman had managed to climb up the old oak tree and sat on a thick branch similar to the way someone would ride sidesaddle. Below her, an old, decrepit-looking ladder lay sideways on the ground.
That must be how she got up there, but if she tries to jump down, she’ll break her lovely neck.

He pulled the truck up to the side of the road and yelled, “Hey, do you need some help?”

He felt bad when she jumped slightly and gripped the branch below her. How was it she didn’t hear his truck but she heard his voice?

“Oh, thank you very much, but I’m cool. I appreciate your attempt at chivalry, but it is entirely unnecessary.” She gave him a small wave as she reached into a pocket and pulled out what looked like more ribbons.

“How do you think you are going to get down from there, fly?”

She looked down at him, arched a delicate eyebrow, and rolled her eyes. “No, of course not. I believe
glide
is a more appropriate term in this case.”

“Like a rock?”

She frowned at his attempt at humor and then turned away and tied the long ribbons together, making an almost weblike structure. While she acted as if she had dismissed him, she kept peeking quick looks over at him.

Colwyn watched her and tried to figure out exactly what it was about her that fascinated him. Her speech was a unique mix of formal as well as slang. Despite her confidence, he couldn’t see how she would manage to get out of the tree without breaking her neck. He pulled the truck forward, and then backed up until his truck bed was underneath the branch where she was perched. He jumped out of the truck and then lifted himself into the bed. Standing underneath her, he lifted his arms and wiggled his fingers at her, attempting to coax her out of the tree. “Come on, little bird.”

“You are quite mad. Do you know that?” She grinned down at him and her smile lit up a part of his heart he’d thought would remain in darkness forever.

“I’ve been accused of worse. I’ll catch you if you jump.”

“All right, but I told you this was completely unnecessary.” She pushed herself off the branch and Colwyn braced himself for her weight. She drifted down at a completely unnatural speed and eased into his open arms. She didn’t weigh hardly anything, and when her scent hit him, it almost took him to his knees. It wasn’t the scent of a human or a shifter. She smelled of the sea and of the wind on a summer’s day. Her scent was foreign, but at the same time, completely natural.

Colwyn didn’t really care what she was because he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was now and always would be his. He stood there holding her slight form, and stared down at her heart-shaped face. She had eyes the color of the ice out on the lake. A deep, dark blue that looked almost opalescent in the sun. She didn’t have a smidge of makeup on, but her lashes were black as coal, and her lips looked like the red of his mum’s favorite Diana roses. His brain scrambled for an answer of what she could be, but only one answer came to mind, and that was impossible.

“So, little bird. Why did you crawl up into a tree on a cold winter’s morning to hang decorations?”

“Because I wanted to repay a favor.”

That didn’t make a bit of sense to him, but the woman in his arms obviously felt it was a perfectly reasonable explanation. “You wouldn’t happen to be the young woman staying with Aniela?”

“I think it is more polite to have a conversation if both of our feet were touching the ground, don’t you?”

She wriggled slightly in his arms, but he wasn’t ready to let her go yet. Having her in his arms made him feel better than he had in the last decade. He sat down on the edge of the truck bed, keeping her in his lap. “So, do you have a name, or shall I continue to call you my little bird?”

“I have no control over what you want to call me, but, since you have asked, my name is Holly.”

“Holly what?”

“Just Holly. What’s yours?”

“Colwyn Marshall.”

“Marshall?” He didn’t miss the way her body reacted to his name. She stiffened up and her face pinched up in a scowl. She pushed away from him with such force. He was afraid that she would hurt herself if he held on to her. “You’re a long way from your clan, Colwyn.”

“I’m many generations from belonging to a clan, Holly.”

“Yes, of course.” Her features softened and her body relaxed. That seemed to appease her concern, but he had no idea why.

“Why don’t you hop into the truck and I’ll drive you to the house?” Despite the bright sunshine, he could see her cheeks looked a bit dull and waxy. The cold didn’t bother him in the slightest, but she looked like she was getting frostbite.

“It’s not that far of a walk.”

“I know, but I came to visit with Aniela, so you might as well sit in the front where it’s warm.” Also, that would allow him a few more moments to bask in her scent. Holly refused his help, hopped over the edge of the truck, and gracefully dropped to the ground. For a moment, Colwyn would have sworn a soft breeze blew her scent over his face, opposite to the direction the wind was blowing. A witch, that had to be it. She was a witch…There was no other believable explanation.

“Come in and have something warm to drink. Aniela makes the most incredible tea. It’s called coffee.” Holly opened her own door and got into the cab. That comment was strange, because she acted as if she’d never had it before.

Stepping into the big old house felt like stepping back in time. He hadn’t been here more than a handful of times in the last decade. Being here, surrounded by memories of a much happier time, made his chest squeeze painfully tight.

“I’m in the kitchen, Holly.” Aniela’s gentle voice echoed down the hall.

He followed the voice and Aniela gave him a big smile when he came through the door.

“Colwyn, how wonderful to see you! Have you met my guest, Holly?”

“Yes, I have. She was outside when I pulled up, but I’m afraid that she might have a bit of frostbite. Although looking at her now, she looks fine. Her cheeks were looking a bit waxy outside.”

“Oh, I feel fine now.” Holly stood at the counter with a large plate in her hand.
Wait, how the hell did she get out of them so quickly
? He glanced over and noticed her coat hanging on the wall next to him.
Now that was impossible, because I would have seen her hang it there, and I didn’t.

“You were sent by Brand, weren’t you?” Aniela patted him on the chest over his heart. She knew that he still mourned his lost friendship with Brand. He never hid that fact.