“Your fever appears to be back.” He reached over and felt her forehead. “Yeah. Just stay here. I’ll get some of your medicine for you.”

  “Thanks, Michael. What an awful way to begin our courtship.”

  He smiled and kissed her hot forehead. “This helps us to see if we’re right for each other, through sickness and health.”

  She smiled.

  “I’ll be right back.” He returned with water, orange juice, and her medicine. “Do you think you can handle some eggs?”

  “Sure. Over easy, shredded cheese sprinkled on top, if you think you can manage making them. I usually overcook my eggs due to inattention.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”

  Her brows knit into a frown. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. I’m ready to tackle some of those boxes.”

  “Ugh. Don’t even mention it.” She sat up and took her medicine and drank some of her water, then finished the orange juice and lay back down.

  “After you’ve eaten, if you’re feeling any better, you can sit or lie on the couch, and I can unpack some of the boxes and organize the contents the way you want.” He really did feel better, and he was ready to earn his keep and help her out at the same time.

  She pulled his pillow over her head, and he smiled. He decided to wait on making her breakfast and let her get some more sleep if she could. In the meantime, he went into the guest bedroom and fished some clean clothes out of one of his bags. Once he was dressed, he went into the living room and looked out the front window. Tom was standing on the front porch, serving on guard duty.

  Michael opened the front door. “Hey, Tom, would you like some coffee?”

  “Yeah, sure. How are you both doing today?”

  “I’m good, feeling much more myself. Carmela’s running a fever again. She’s been having them on and off.”

  Tom came inside, and Michael made them some coffee.

  “Does she need help unpacking?” Tom motioned to the stacks of boxes.

  “Not for now. I offered to help, but she went back to sleep. Have you had any word about Raymond?”

  “We’ve learned his father lives in Bend, Oregon, according to military records. His mother is deceased,” Tom said, taking the mug of coffee Michael offered him. “Peter contacted the dad, and he said his son was still in the army as far as he knew. He wasn’t surprised to learn Raymond had gotten in trouble in the army and had been kicked out. The dad had issues with his son also over the years. He said Raymond was strong-headed, doing his own thing, right or wrong. Mostly wrong. But his dad said the other two men were his pals and they were the ones who got him into trouble. I didn’t mention that Carmela said Raymond was serving as the leader of the three wolves. The other two were from Bend, Oregon, also, but their families are gone.”

  “No pack out there?”

  “No. Thankfully. So if Raymond returns, he’ll hopefully be on his own, but he’ll have to heal up. His dad said if Raymond goes to see him, he’ll let us know. He won’t take part in giving his son a safe haven when he’s tried to murder a woman for doing her job. And the thing of it is, she wasn’t the only one who was on the board. He understands that. He retired from the army, and he thought his son could learn something from it.”

  “Do you think he really will turn him over to us?” Michael asked, unable to believe the father would.

  Tom shrugged. “He may have the best intentions, but when he sees his son, he could very well change his mind and try to straighten him out or protect him. Peter told him the other wolves are dead. Raymond’s dad said he was glad for that but didn’t ask how they died. Peter didn’t want to tell him that you and Carmela fought them. Darien would rather it sounded as though the whole pack took them down just to keep either of you from being involved in any of this further.”

  “Okay, thanks. Did you want some breakfast? I was going to fix some eggs for Carmela.”

  Tom cast him a small smile. “It sounds like you moved right in.”

  Michael pulled a skillet out of a cabinet. “Yeah, you know it helps to be a hero. Of course, it helps when the lady is the heroine and takes care of some of the bad guys too.”

  Smiling, Tom shook his head.

  They heard Carmela padding down the hall in a pair of slipper boots. She was wearing a robe over PJs now and still looked a bit flushed. “Hey, Tom.”

  “How are you feeling?” Tom asked, frowning.

  “Oh, getting better. As soon as I can kick this fever, I’ll be all set. I guess you don’t have any good news about Raymond.”

  Michael began breaking the eggs over the skillet. “Did you want some eggs, Tom?” he asked him again.

  “I’ve already eaten, thanks.” Tom said to Carmela, “We’ve had no luck in finding him. When you shot him, do you think he was playing possum until you wouldn’t notice him leaving and then he took off? We’re wondering how badly wounded he was.”

  “Yeah, that’s just what I believe happened. I think he was waiting to see if his buddies would take us out, but when it looked like they weren’t going to win against Michael and my bow, he ran off as fast as he could in his condition. I believe he knew that arrow was going to really slow him down in a fight. I was surprised when he keeled over on the ground as if the arrow had killed him, then when the fight was over, he had vanished.” Carmela took a seat at the kitchen counter.

  “We wondered about that. His dad said he wasn’t the ringleader,” Tom said.

  She scoffed. “He was. Even in the army, he was the one who convinced the other guys they wouldn’t get caught smoking dope in the van because he’d done it a number of times. He was the one who led the attack too.”

  “Yeah, he was the leader,” Michael agreed, adding shredded cheese on top of the eggs cooking in the skillet. “He was eyeing me, trying to intimidate me, but it wasn’t working. Maybe he was testing my resolve before he attacked.”

  “If you’re wondering if Raymond could have died without getting medical treatment, yes,” Carmela said. “Were there any reports at any area hospitals of an individual shot with an arrow?”

  “No. We checked all the local hospitals.” Tom finished his coffee and set the mug on the counter. “Darien says he really doesn’t think the guy will be in any shape to come here for some time. Doc Weber said depending on where the arrow struck the wolf, it could take him a couple of weeks to heal from it. We’re going to safeguard you until the two of you are feeling better yourselves and then call the guard detail off. We will have someone drive by to check on things, just no 24/7 guard force watching the place.”

  “That sounds good to me. I really think the 24/7 guard force detail isn’t necessary right now either,” she said.

  “Well, Darien and Lelandi said it is until both of you are back on your feet. I’m headed out. Just let me know if you need anything,” Tom said.

  “Thanks, Tom. We will,” Carmela said.

  “Thanks,” Michael said.

  Tom left the house, and Carmela locked the door behind him, then set out the silverware. Michael served up the eggs, toast, and fresh cups of coffee.

  After they finished eating, Michael heard someone else arrive outside. He didn’t recognize the sound of the vehicle.

  Darien Silver dropped by with a casserole for them to eat later. “We’ve come to tell you that you can join the pack if you’d like,” he told Michael. “We can always use another good wolf in our ranks. You proved you have the mettle to help our pack members out in a pinch.”

  Michael shook his hand. “Thanks, Darien. You can count on me to help out wherever and whenever you need me to.” Michael suspected the offer was as much an attempt to keep him here so that if he and Carmela mated, they wouldn’t lose her.

  Carmela thanked him for the casserole too.

  After Darien left, Michael started looking over the boxes. Carmela retreated to the bedroom, and he thought she was going back to bed, but then she returned with a pillow and a blanket. “I know that look in your eyes. You want to help sort out this mess. Are you OCD, by the way?”

  He chuckled. “I guess I’d moved so many times while I served in the army that the only way I could feel settled was to get rid of the boxes and put everything away as quickly as I can.” Even if the house wasn’t his or the boxes filled with stuff weren’t either.

  She settled on the couch. “Go ahead.”

  “Files and office supplies?” He cut open the first box stacked in front of him.

  “In the office, second room down the hall on the right.”

  He went to lift it, and she said, “Uh, uh,” in a way that said no! “Behind the boxes stacked over there, you can find a dolly.”

  He smiled. “Okay. Filing cabinet is in the office, I take it?” He retrieved the dolly and placed the box on top of it. Then found another box of files and added it to the dolly.

  “Yes.”

  “Any order?”

  “Important stuff in top two drawers. They have the blue tabs. Third drawer down, yellow-tab files, and last is the drawer with the green tabs.”

  “Got it.”

  Then she closed her eyes and he headed off with his first two boxes. He hoped it would be all this easy so he could unpack the rest of the boxes in short order. He hoped she’d feel better if she didn’t have all this work ahead of her once she fully recovered.

  He began filing all her files in the oak chest, eager to get it done and then tackle the next few boxes. He envisioned having everything put away pronto.

  Five

  Carmela hadn’t really expected Michael to sort out her boxes, but she appreciated that he wanted to. She just hoped he didn’t pull out any of his stitches or get sick from doing all this work. She closed her eyes while she heard him placing files in the drawers, and she must have drifted off to sleep. The next sound she heard was Michael in the guest bedroom.

  She glanced over at the stacks of boxes and saw six more had vanished. Maybe he found the sheets and comforter for the guest bed. He might need his own space to sleep in while he healed up, but she’d miss him in her bed. She vaguely recalled hitting a wolf with her bow in the middle of the night and then Michael’s hands on her arms, restraining her and kissing her and telling her she was safe. She’d just gone back to sleep and had half wondered this morning upon waking if she’d imagined all of it or if it had happened. If it had, she didn’t want to be beating on him while he was trying to heal up. Or at any other time. Here she’d worried he might not be used to sleeping with anyone else, and then she had to attack him in the middle of the night, if she had.

  When she woke again, she didn’t feel feverish, thank goodness. She smelled the chicken and broccoli casserole in the oven, noticed a whole stack of boxes was gone, and Michael was dozing on the recliner.

  She smiled at him. He looked so peaceful. She thought he was so sweet to join her in the living room and be with her and not retire to bed where he could have had a better sleep. But she did wonder if she’d find everything he put away. Which meant she’d have to keep him around longer so she could ask him where things were and hope he’d remember.

  She carefully left the couch, trying not to disturb him, then headed down the hall to check out the guest room. He’d made the bed. In the linen closet, she found all her towels, extra pillows, and linens all stacked neatly on each of the shelves. She decided he needed to live with her if he was always this organized. She checked her office and found he’d brought all the boxes with office supplies in here. All but one was empty. In her oak supply cabinet, he’d neatly organized her printer paper and the rest of her office supplies. She let out her breath in relief. He was a wonder.

  She finished emptying the last box and sorting the office stuff, then carried a couple of the empty boxes out of the office. The timer on the oven dinged, and she dropped the boxes on the floor of the hall and ran to the kitchen to turn it off so it wouldn’t disturb Michael, but he was already getting up to take care of it.

  “Are you feeling better? It looks like you no longer have a fever.” Michael turned off the oven and the timer. Then he used an oven mitt to pull out the casserole dish and set it on top of the stove.

  “Yes, and thanks for everything.” As soon as his hands were free, she gave him a warm hug, hoping she didn’t hurt any of his injuries.

  As if he wasn’t hurting at all, he pulled her tight against him and she smelled his hotness, his maleness, his wolfishness, his turned-on pheromones, all making her feel feverish again, though she knew it was only from the heat he was generating in her and not from her wounds.

  He kissed her mouth then, soft and gently at first, then pressuring a little, waiting for her to respond by opening her mouth to him. And she did, wanting to open her whole body to him.

  She hadn’t felt this wrapped up in a wolf ever, and she had to curb her fascination in him to allow them time to get to know each other. Though from everything he’d done for her already and the way her feminine parts were so eager to get to know his male parts even better, she suspected she was fighting a losing battle.

  They finally separated and sat down to eat lunch.

  After they finished their meal and cleaned up, they tackled some more of the boxes together, setting pictures aside against one of the walls until they could find her tools. Once he found the box, he held up the hammer in one hand and a nail in the other in victory.

  She laughed. He was cute. She had figured it would take her weeks to get the pictures hung up, but they spent the rest of the afternoon putting her tools in the tool chest in the garage and then hanging up pictures.

  That evening, they had casserole leftovers for dinner and settled on the couch to watch something on TV. They picked a true story about a Dutch banker financing the resistance during WWII, and she liked how Michael and she were trying to decide on one of a great number of shows they were both interested in—action, adventure, historical, true stories, fantasy, thrillers.

  After the movie, it was past time for bed, and she wondered about offering for him to join her in bed, but she didn’t want to sound too needy.

  “I made up the bed in the guest room to empty some of the boxes, but if you need me to chase away your nightmares…” He left his offer hanging, waiting for her to take him up on it or to decline.

  She sighed and took hold of his hand. “I hit you in the middle of the night, didn’t I?”

  “Not me. You were striking out at a big, bad wolf, I imagine. No worries. You didn’t hurt me.”

  “You don’t mind if I’m fighting more monster wolves in my sleep tonight?”

  “Nope. And it saves me having to race down the hall from the guest room to protect you.” He smiled down at her, rubbing her back.

  “Okay, that decides it then.” She hauled him back to her bedroom, but then she wondered how he’d known to come to protect her in the woods. “You sure showed up at the right time when I needed a hero.”

  “I saw you at the service station. I was filling up, and then you looked…spooked. I smelled your scent and thought you were the same woman as the one I had met at Fort Sam Houston and hoped you were with a pack I could check out locally.”

  “You mean, you wanted to date me already?”

  “You could very well have been mated. But then you tore off and I saw the men going after you. I thought you might need some backup.”

  “Okay, I was belatedly making sure you weren’t a stalker.” She kicked off her slippers, removed her robe, and slipped under the covers.

  He smiled, stripped out of everything but his black boxer briefs, and climbed under the covers. “No, just a man with a mission—looking for a pack to belong to.”

  “Do you have any siblings?”

  “A twin brother, who’s also in the army.”

  “Green Beret?”

  “Yep. We were always confusing our trainers. On a regular basis, they threatened to kick one of us out of the program. Daniel wants to stay in to make full bird colonel if he can. Then he hoped to join me if I was a member of a wolf pack he liked. It was just a good thing our roles weren’t reversed and he came here instead.”

  “He’ll probably be glad he didn’t get chewed up.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be regretting his decision. I’m just glad he’s not here at the same time or you’d get us mixed up.”

  “No. Way. You might look similar, but I’d know you anywhere from your growls, howls, voice, and scent.” She drew close and kissed his cheek. “And…kisses.”

  He pulled her into his arms, and she stiffened a little. “Are you sure you’re not hurting?” she asked.

  “Believe me, this makes all the hurts go away.”

  And then she really knew she’d lost her mind when she began to pull off her PJ shirt and he helped her out of it the rest of the way. Then he was tugging off her bottoms and she was tackling his boxer briefs, trying to be careful not to hurt any of his bandaged wounds.

  Both of them naked now, she was kissing him again, their mouths nuzzling, their tongues licking each other’s, and then he was deepening the kiss. Their pheromones were going crazy. She was so wet and ready for him that she spread her legs over his, just wanting to join with him in the worst way. Yet for wolves, that would mean mating for life, and she knew they couldn’t go that far.

  He rolled her over onto her back, and for a moment, she was afraid his wounds were hurting and that he’d had to move her off him to find relief. But then he plundered her mouth with his tongue, and his finger began to stroke her feminine nub. He was one hot wolf, ready for action, no matter what condition he was in! She certainly could learn to love a wolf like that.

  They continued to kiss, her hands touching his skin wherever he wasn’t bandaged. She couldn’t believe they were doing this now, and yet everything about it seemed right between them.