Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“You murdered it,” Tiernan said, smiling while he shook his head.
“But I cooked yours perfectly,” she said with pride.
“Aye, you did,” he said and nodded to the book on the table. “I see you found the book I left for you. I thought it could introduce you to some of the wolves before you meet them.”
“The photos are amazing. It’s like you’re right there with the wolves.”
“Aye, Saoirse is an exceptional photographer. She contacted me about a photo shoot with the wolves, but the only way I would agree to it was if part of the earnings went to the preserve. She laughed and told me she was about to offer that herself and we sealed the agreement.”
“She must have spent some time here to get just what she wanted,” Olivia said and finished the last of her toast before she said something she would regret.
“She was here for a couple of months.”
“That long?”
“Aye, she needed the time to get the amount of photographs she required.” Tiernan pushed his empty plate aside. “Jealous?”
“I certainly am not jealous and it’s none of my business,” she said a bit too defensively.
“But you are curious.”
Olivia gave up the pretense of not being interested. “Well, from what you told me about your sex life—”
“A werewolf’s sex life,” he corrected.
She sighed, shook her head, and finished. “You make the most of the women who visit here.”
“Only those women interested.”
“And so, was Saoirse interested?” Did she really sound that annoyed?
“Are you asking me if I had sex with her?”
“It’s none of my business.” Hadn’t she already said that?
“Yet you want to know.”
Olivia shook her head annoyed that she had let it upset her. “My apologies. That is your personal business.”
“I never had sex with Saoirse. Neither of us were interested in each other. I could tell that from the start. She was here strictly to photograph the wolves. She is not aware that MacMadadh Preserve is a home to werewolves.”
“Maybe if she was here during the winter, it would have turned out differently.” Was that her being catty?
“No one stays here during the winter.”
“You allowed me here.
“You’re different.”
“How so?”
“I wanted you here.”
Surprise turned her silent, giving him enough time to continue.
“I enjoyed our visit last night and was glad to feel no fear from you when you touched me. And I must say, Olivia, you have my heart as well.”
Olivia leaned back in her chair, her eyes fixed on him, not knowing what to say.
Tiernan leaned forward, bracing his arms on the table. “Werewolves are not the evil lot myths have made them out to be, though just like evil exists in humans, it also exists in werewolves. I will not tolerate evil in my clan. It is why we have survived and lived peacefully among humans for so long.”
“It is difficult for me to accept what I have always believed to be nothing more than a tale that entertained to now be true. I look at you and see a man, an attractive, intelligent man, who I am to believe turns into a wolf… werewolf. Since I am unable to reason how a large, black wolf gets into the castle, let alone my room, I must consider the possibility that you are telling me the truth. A truth that is difficult for me to grasp.”
“Sometimes, Olivia, you just need to reach out and take hold and see where it takes you,” Tiernan said, stretching his hand out across the table to her.
She watched his hand drift across the table toward her and the urge to take hold of it, take a chance, overwhelmed her.
“Trust me, Olivia, you won’t regret it,” he said.
The strength and confidence in his tone nudged at her, and she leaned forward and was about to stretch her hand out to him when a howl pierced the silence.
“Bloody hell,” Tiernan snapped.
His burst of anger, along with the sparks of anger that flared in his green eyes, had Olivia drawing back away from him.
“My apologies for the inexcusable outburst, Olivia,” Tiernan said, standing. “There is a small group of young pups, young to me, who seem to think they are ready to challenge my leadership. It frequently happens when one of the older werewolves dies. They wrongly assume that all the elders are weak, and it would be an easy victory for them. My brother Sim warned me about this last night. He, along with his wife and many generations of children, live to the far north of the preserve and lead a pack there. A couple of young ones there left to join the few here.”
Olivia stood. She knew full well the consequences when a pack’s leadership was challenged. “Are you in danger?”
“Nay, it’s nothing to worry about,” he said as he walked around the table to her and reached behind her head to release the clip and let her hair fall free. After dropping the clip on the table, he ran his fingers through her hair as he leaned down to draw in its scent. “I love all your scents, each one of them. Your floral-scented hair. Your breath, that always holds a hint of mint to it. Your body that hints of vanilla. But it is your womanly scent, distinctive, natural, enticing, that is the strongest and tempts me the most.”