Hot Springs Werewolf Complete Series (BBW Werewolf Erotic Romance) (2 page)

"Argh, you piece of junk!"

I turned it off and pulled out the batteries before looking up to see myself reflected in the full-length mirror that was set against the far wall. With my blush still in full bloom I walked over to where I'd been standing and turned around to face the door with my hands behind me. I looked back over my shoulder.

Yup. He saw everything.

*

T
he first thing I did after hiding the vibrator away was to drag the boxes into the various rooms and unpack them. I'm a veteran of moving house and I know that the longer you leave boxes sitting around, the worse it gets. No matter how dirty or dusty or tired I was, I unpacked like I was possessed.

As I did, my mind kept straying back to Red Guile, rescuer of stranded travelers and owner of some of the finest forearms I'd ever seen. He said he hadn't seen Boris for twenty years. So since he was about ten (I guessed he was thirty). He knew Great-aunt Millie but never in the time I'd known her had she talked about Hot Springs or the Hot Neighbor.

I got everything unpacked fairly quickly (easy when you don't own much) and took my time looking around the cabin. It had good water pressure, comfortable old furniture and the view from the windows was spectacular. Out the front the gravel drive led down to the road but the cabin was mainly hidden from passing traffic. I filled up a glass of water and went out to the gazebo. There was a big wooden table there and carved weathered seats. I gave one a quick whack to dislodge any spiders and then sat down to take in the view.

Behind the cabin the grass led up to a forest that was as lush and green as a postcard picture. The air was clear and sweet and the water tasted better than anything I'd ever drunk in a city.

Finally when I was outside I managed to get my mind off the very sexy Red Guile and his hands and back around to why I was here. Like Millie, I was a writer. She'd published a book in her mid-thirties called
The Fire Complete
. It wasn't a best-seller and eventually dropped out of print but it had made her enough money to buy a house. It was the story of three families living in the wilderness and what happened when the men came across a seam of gold that crossed their land. Unlike Millie, I hadn't published a book. The early talent that I'd turned into ability with hard work had been put to poor use. Writing advertorial for cars that destroyed the environment. Websites for things no one needed. Apart from some children's stuff, I'd taken the best of me and thrown it into a low-paid machine. Millie (who was 88 when she died) had kicked me in the ass about it a few times, telling me that if I didn't get moving, I'd regret it the rest of my life.

Then she'd passed away and her final gift for me was the most amazing at all: time. The cabin was paid in full for a year. I had a truck to get me to town and I had a part-time job to keep me fed.

I raised my glass of water to the forest and said cheers to the memory of Millie. As I lowered my glass to take a sip, I noticed a flicker of moment between the trees. A rabbit maybe? I kept watching but whatever it was stayed still or had crept away.

I stayed out there for an hour or so until late afternoon began the slow transition to early evening. I decided to go back inside, take a long hot shower and then either 1) eat what I had with me or 2) go up to Red's house for dinner.

Option one was safe and I had zero chance of embarrassing myself. Option two sent my stomach fluttering. I went inside and stripped off for the shower. The pipes groaned and clanked but soon there was a strong flow of hot water. I used my final bar of soap that had survived the trip to wash the road off me. I thought I'd been relaxed sitting outside looking at the scenery but it was nothing compared to the hot shower. I felt tense muscles relaxing as layers of dirt and grime washed away. Finally I turned the shower off and dried myself with my backup towel before looking myself over in the mirror.

I had some red marks on my body from the long trip. The seatbelt seemed to have permanently left its mark on my shoulder and across my stomach. Under my bellybutton, the button on the front of my skirt had stamped a reverse image of itself too. I traced my finger over it and across my tummy before briefly wondering if long walks around the forest would slim off a few pounds. I liked being curvy. I even liked being on the curvy side of curvy (although my ex was still a dick for saying that) and had largely accepted being ... yeah, well, you know.

Big
.

A three-letter word that wasn't flattering but it was better than that
other
three-letter word. The one boyfriends in the process of becoming ex-boyfriends decided to hurl out. Before I decided to throw myself a little pity party in front of the mirror or lose my mind worrying about what Red thought of me (someone I'd only known for less than an hour the stop-being-a-loser part of my mind said), I put on my underwear. The evening was still warm and I was in no hurry to put clothes on. Besides, if I was staying in then it was pajamas and if I were going out ... I don't know, something sexy?

I took myself to the kitchen where it turned out I'd severely underestimated my food situation. I had half a bag of corn chips, a packet of chewing gum and about two mouthfuls of flat lemonade swishing around the bottle.

Tonight madam we have corn chips for main followed by chewing gum for dessert and paired with a cheeky little lemonade served
sans
bubbles.

At that moment my stomach decided to let out a growl just to let me know that it was getting hungry and if I didn't sort something out soon, things were going to get rough.

I took out the celebratory bottle of wine that I'd bought for my arrival and looked at the label. Corn chips and wine for dinner? I wasn't a college student.

Before I could really get into why I was somewhat seriously considering having a bottle of wine for dinner rather than accepting a dinner invitation from a handsome man, I saw my phone sitting where I'd left it on the table.

Food delivery!

I knew I was ten miles out but perhaps with the promise of a large enough tip I could get a pizza out here from Hot Springs.

No signal.

I started walking around the cabin waving my phone around in the air. Just as I passed the front door, a bar flickered and vanished. I moved closer to the door, trying to hit the sweet spot but the bar never appeared for more than an instant. Soon I was pressed up against the door with the phone above my head, watching the bar strobe on and off.

I opened the door a fraction and peeked outside. While I was showering, the sun had set and now it was the very early evening, the final glimmer of light vanishing over the horizon. Thanks to the trees and the angle the cabin was set on no one from the road or Red would be able to see me. I slipped out the door, holding my phone up in one hand and keeping a firm grasp on the door with the other, ready to jump inside at the first flash of headlights.

I waved my phone and a solid bar appeared.

"Yes!"

I hit 411 for information and pressed CALL at the same moment I let go of the door and heard it click shut behind me. The bars vanished an instant later and the call dropped out.

I turned around and tried the door handle. Locked. I looked down and then closed my eyes as though when I opened them I'd suddenly be inside. I was in my white underwear and white bra, locked out of my cabin. I opened my eyes and moved to the front window. It was locked too and now I could see the house keys sitting on the table where Red had dropped them.

Don't freak out. Just check the windows.

Using my phone as a light I moved barefoot around to the side of the cabin, keeping my eyes firmly on the lit interior and away from the darkness behind me. I hadn't touched the windows so I knew they'd be locked but I still gave each on a jiggle. Soon I was at the front door again wondering if I could just smash a window and then pay for it to be repaired. It was either that or stroll on up to Red's in my underwear.

What kind of invitation would
that
be?

When I thought of Red I remembered he'd told me about the spare key. Where did he say the it was? The gazebo!

I looked across at it. It wasn't that far from the cabin in the day but in the dark it may as well have been a million miles.

I'm here for a year. I'm here for a year.

With that accidental rhyme repeating in my mind, I set out barefoot across the dirt using my phone as a torch and praying no one was watching. Least of all Red from his house on the hill. I'm sure he'd notice a glowing phone screen bobbing up and down.

I reached the gazebo without being eaten alive or standing on anything spiky (although my feet were going to need a wash) and saw there were nine wooden poles holding it up. Red said it was on top of the third one... but which was the third one?

I moved one of the chairs to the closest pole and stepped up on it. I didn't particularly want to be feeling around for a key in the dark but my fear of spiders was far less than my fear of walking up to Red Guile's door in my underwear.

Nothing on pole number one.

I stepped down and as I was about to move the chair, the phone screen clicked off, leaving me in perfect darkness. I felt my heart jolt and I quickly hit the button to light it up again.

"Just stay calm, just stay calm," I whispered to myself.

I moved the chair. Nothing on pole number two.

Pole number three produced a single key sitting atop it. I practically leapt down from the chair before walking back to the cabin. I didn't run because I knew if I did, I'd probably lose it completely and living out in a cabin in the woods was no time to develop an intense fear of the dark. I managed to hold it together until I was at the door and then for some reason I became afraid the key wouldn't fit and I'd end up at Red's door in my underwear anyway. The key slid smoothly into the lock and I went inside, closing the door firmly behind me.

Once more I was against the back of the door looking at myself in the mirror. This time though I was practically naked.

I went straight to my bottle of wine, opened it and poured myself a mug (no wine glasses in the cupboard). I ate a handful of corn chips and went to the bathroom to wash the dirt off my feet while the alcohol did its work.

After I dried my feet off and put on my dressing gown, I looked out the window up the hill at Red's house. The windows glowed a comforting warmth. I could see an outside light was on next to a garage where Boris was sitting. As I watched, mug of wine in hand, I saw Red moving around up there, looking under the hood.

I looked across at the clock up on the wall. 7:30pm.

My stomach gave a growl.

It was just a friendly visit. A welcoming neighbor.

Who I would fuck like crazy.

I squeezed my eyes shut to push that thought away. I was going to be living here for a year and it would do me no good to get involved with the neighbor. No matter how hot he was.

Before I could change my mind (or get even hungrier), I gulped down the rest of my mug and got dressed. It was still warm enough outside for my black skirt. That was the reason I told myself I was wearing it. I put on a matching black blouse and a pair of shoes that were flats with the tiniest heel. Thankfully my hair had calmed down somewhat and so I was able to tie it back without too much trouble.

I gave myself a once-over in the mirror before adding the slightest hint of mascara and a light lip balm. I was the girl next door coming over for dinner and oh, no, I didn't make any huge effort, I just look like this most of the time.

I picked up my celebratory wine, stuffed the keys in my skirt pocket and locked the door behind me.

There was a long gravel path leading up from the cabin to Red's house. In the dark, the white gravel practically glowed. I kept my phone in the other hand just in case I needed the light and worked on opening lines.

Hey Red! How are you?

Hey Red - thought I'd drop by with my wine.

Hey Red - want to drink some wine and go to bed?

Hey Red - how about we skip the wine and go straight to bed?

I stopped halfway up the hill to get a grip on myself and then noticed Red's silhouette next to his house. He was standing there under the light, looking down at me. He moved and I saw the light glint off his eyes.

"Get moving," I muttered to myself, trying to think of a reason for why I stopped. A stone! Stone in my shoe. I made a pretense of wriggling my foot for a moment and then continued on.

As I approached his house, Red stepped out from the dark and nodded to me. He'd been hot before as Mr. Cowboy rescuing stranded travelers. Now he'd changed into a ripped pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt and he had grease on his hands. Standing there barefoot, covered in dirt and grime he looked hotter than any man I'd ever seen before.

Really have to hold it together Harper. Here for a year.

"Welcome. Can't shake your hand right now. Come on up."

He turned around and I followed that perfect ass up into the light before remembering how to speak.

"Thanks for inviting me. Not much food at my place. Only wine."

"And corn chips."

Had he been watching me? How the hell did he-

"You've got a crumb on your blouse there." He stopped next to Boris and turned around with a smile on his face. I looked down and sure enough there was the tiniest speck of a corn chip sitting next to my top button. I brushed it off.

"You have a good eye for snack spotting."

"You could say that. Come on inside, I'll wash up."

I followed him through the side door from the garage and down a small corridor. We turned right, walked past a set of stairs and into a large kitchen adjoining a lounge room.

"Wow, this is beautiful."

There was a big wood table similar to the one in my cabin surrounded by six chairs. The kitchen was packed with modern appliances but still looked rustic thanks to the bench tops. In the adjoining lounge there was a large sofa, some chairs and a low crackling fire that was mostly red glowing coals.

There was also the delicious smell of food - fresh bread and stew. The oven was on and there was a big pot sitting on the cook top.