“Why?” She watched him stuff his shirttails into his jeans and considered offering some help.
“I manhandled you.” He buttoned the top of his jeans and buckled his belt. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Phineas, I’m okay. I . . . enjoyed it.”
He glanced at her. “Really?” When she nodded, his mouth curled up and his gaze drifted to her chest. “You were right about the B-cup.”
She smiled. “It’s good to know the Three-Step rule is still in effect. I was worried after you turned me down the other night.”
He waited for her to enter the elevator, then punched the button for the ground floor. “What is this Three-Step rule?”
“In my experience, men tend to be rather simple.” She paused when he arched a brow at her. “Well, it basically means that at any given moment, a man’s brain is only three steps away from thinking about sex.”
He frowned, considering, as he took his jacket from her and put it on. “I disagree.”
“You don’t think about sex that often?” She scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”
He gave her a wry look. “I don’t need three steps. Hell, I just look at you and want sex.”
Her cheeks warmed with a blush, and she smiled slowly. “You know, after I’ve been a wolf for a few hours, I could shift back, and we could have a date. I tend to have a lot of excess energy I need to work off.”
He moved toward her. “I could help you with that.”
“Goodness. You are faster than three steps.”
“You bet.” He planted a hand on the elevator wall, close to her head. “I’ve got a fast mind, but slow hands.”
She licked her lips. “Sounds perfect.”
He tilted his hat back and leaned in for a kiss.
A thrill shot through her, and her toes curled inside her cowboy boots. What a sexy kisser. Making love to him was going to knock her boots off for sure. “Phin?”
“Mmm.” He nuzzled her neck.
“The elevator door has opened.”
He glanced back. “Damn.”
They hurried to the MacKay security office. Zoltan was selecting a sword and pistol from the caged weapons area. Freemont was focusing on a computer screen, but his eyes were twinkling and his mouth twitching.
Brynley glanced at the wall of monitors and spotted Phineas’s bedroom on the bottom row. Damn was right.
Phineas put on his shoulder holster and checked his sidearm. “Where are Jack and Lara? We need to go.”
“They just left,” Freemont replied. “Jack teleported her to the school. The were-panther lady went into labor, and Lara insisted on going there. Jack said he’d catch up with you guys later.”
“Caitlyn’s having the babies?” Brynley asked. Damn, but she hated to miss that. She couldn’t help it, though. She had to shift. “Oh my gosh, what if Caitlyn has to shift?”
Freemont shrugged. “I don’t know. Some Vamp doctor from Houston is with her.”
“Robby has been teleporting Carlos back,” Zoltan added. “Now that it’s dark here, they should be arriving soon.”
Phineas touched her arm. “I can take you to the school if you want.”
She winced. “I have to shift.” The wolf didn’t care about her new friends. It growled inside her. Let’s go now! “I need to go back to the cabin. Now.” Hopefully, after a few hours, she could return to see how Caitlyn was doing.
“Okay.” Phineas slipped knives into his boots, then turned to Zoltan. “Ready to go?”
Zoltan sheathed his sword. “Yes.”
Phineas grabbed Brynley, and within a few seconds, they were materializing at the cabin in Wyoming.
Zoltan glanced around quickly. “It looks the same. No one came during the day.”
For a second, Brynley’s form shimmered as she fought to keep the wolf from breaking free.
“Whoa!” Phineas jumped back.
She regained control. “That was close.”
“You’re telling me!” Phineas yanked off his hat and ran a hand over his hair. “For a second, I thought I was hugging a wolf!”
“You almost did.” She sat and yanked off her cowboy boots. “I hate shifting with clothes on. It rips them all up.” She pulled off her socks.
“You’re stripping now?” Phineas shot a warning look at Zoltan.
“I think I’ll check on the horses in the stable.” He strode to the front door, then glanced back at Phineas, his eyes twinkling. “You’re not joining me?”
Phineas dropped his hat on the kitchen table. “In a minute.”
Zoltan snorted and left, closing the door behind him.
“Does he know how to feed the horses?” Brynley stood to unbuckle her belt and unzip her jeans.
“Sure. He’s used to horses. He’s a medieval dude.” Phineas moved to block the front window. “You need blinds in this place.”
“Afraid a deer might see me?” She dropped her jeans to the floor and kicked them aside. Her hands trembled as she unbuttoned her shirt. “I’m so excited. I can hardly control myself.”
“I’m getting a little excited, too.”
Her cheeks grew warm. “We always strip before shifting. It’s no big deal.” She’d done it in front of others for years, but she suddenly felt self-conscious with Phineas watching her so closely. She removed her shirt and dropped it on the chair. “You want to come with me? There are a whole bunch of trees out there you could punch.”
“Very funny. I have some investigating to do, but I’ll come back for you in, what—two hours?”
She reached behind her back to unhook her bra. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I won’t be wearing a watch, you know.” She slipped the bra off and dropped it on top of her shirt.
He sucked in a breath of air.
She blushed.
“Hello, ladies.”
She laughed, thankful her shyness was short-lived, and strode toward the door. “I’ll see you later, big boy.”
He glanced down at his jeans. “It is that obvious?”
She grinned as she stepped outside onto the porch. The cool air chilled her skin, but soon she’d be warm in a thick fur coat.
“Didn’t you forget something?” Phineas said from the doorway.
She wiggled out of her panties, then tossed them back at him over her shoulder. “Keep those for me, will you?”
He caught them, his eyes gleaming red.
She ran down the steps and into the grassy meadow. At last! The full moon shone down on her, and she lifted her arms, surrendering to the inner wolf.
The surge of power was orgasmic, so strong and overwhelming she didn’t feel the pain of bones shifting or fur sprouting. Within seconds, she was the wolf.
She was free.
Chapter Seventeen
“Be safe, sweetheart,” Phineas whispered as he watched Brynley trot into the woods.
Her father and ex-fiancé didn’t know she had returned to Wyoming, so she should be safe roaming about for a few hours. The national forest was over a million acres and filled with animals, so finding her would be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Hopefully, Rhett Bleddyn would remain in the vicinity of his ranch. As for her father and his minions, they would be miles away at his ranch in Montana, busy celebrating their big monthly hunt.
Still, Phineas tensed with worry when Brynley disappeared from view. You have to trust her, he chided himself. She’d been shifting since she was a teenager. She knew how to handle herself in the woods. And it was important for her to have this last night at home.
He strode into the stable and found Zoltan whispering to Molly as he filled her manger with hay. “What’s up?”
Zoltan glanced at him with the hint of a smile. “It appears you are not the only one here in love.”
“What? Who?”
Zoltan tilted his head toward Molly. “The mare. She is smitten with a wild white stallion.”
Phineas’s eyes widened. “You can communicate with her?”
“Yes. By the way, she approves of you and Brynley. The gelding does as well.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. I’d hate to leave them off the invitation list.”
“Then you plan to marry soon?”
“I was joking.” He winced. Not really.
Zoltan gave him a knowing look.
“Well.” Phineas headed back out the stable door. “Let’s get some work done, okay?” The sooner they completed their mission, the sooner he could get back here for Brynley.
Zoltan accompanied him to the cabin. “You believe Corky is hiding at the ranch owned by Rhett Bleddyn?”
“It’s possible. We know for sure he’s a werewolf. An Alpha.” And the one Brynley’s father had wanted her to marry. Phineas gritted his teeth. Bleddyn was probably still hoping to marry her. He might have bought a nearby ranch so he’d have a reason to stay in the area and pursue her if she ever returned.
“He’ll be shifting tonight.”
“Yeah.” Phineas mounted the steps to the front porch. “He and his pack will be off hunting, so we should be able to sneak into his house. Hopefully, we’ll find Corky there.”
Zoltan smiled as he followed Phineas inside the cabin. “While the wolves are away, the Vamps will play. I like it.”
“Bleddyn’s ranch is next to Nate Carson’s place,” Phineas continued. “We’ll teleport to Nate’s house and ask him to call Bleddyn’s ranch. Then we listen in and teleport straight into Bleddyn’s house.”
“Excellent. Corky will never know we’re coming.”
“We need the element of surprise.” Phineas checked his sidearm. “She may not be alone. Dimitri could be with her.”
Zoltan tucked a pistol under his belt, close to his sheathed sword. “We should knock her unconscious to make sure she doesn’t escape. Then we can teleport her straight to Romatech and put her in the silver room.”
“Got it.” Phineas checked the knives concealed in his boots. “I teleported on Nate’s driveway before, so that’s probably where we’ll land.”
“Let’s do it.” Zoltan looped an arm around Phineas’s shoulders to hitch a ride.
They arrived and quickly looked about. The full moon gleamed off the smooth white concrete of the circular driveway. It was quiet, except for the howl of a wolf far in the distance. A werewolf most probably. Phineas tensed. He should have stayed by Brynley’s side.
But it was the perfect night to hunt for Corky. Her werewolf allies would all be busy.
“Nice house,” Zoltan murmured.
“Yeah.” Phineas strode to the entrance and rang the doorbell.
Footsteps ran toward them and the door jerked open.
“Thank God!” John Brighton shouted. His hopeful expression quickly crumpled into one of confusion and disappointment. “I thought you were the paramedics.” He pushed past them and ran into the driveway. “Where’s the blasted ambulance? I called ten minutes ago.”