Chapter 3 - Lucy

There’s a naked man in my backyard.

At first, the thought is so ludicrous it doesn’t register. It’s just one of those things that is so absurd, the mind refuses to absorb it. I recognized something different about the far corner under the big tree but didn’t focus on it until it moved.

Terror streaks through my veins, shocking me to a standstill. My mind wanders briefly to the stupidity of a fear response being freeze.

Shouldn’t I be running?

Once my eyes focus, I immediately relax. The dark auburn hair glinting in the light and tall, lean body is unmistakable. A cascade of confused questions follows.

Why is Rider in my backyard? Did he have a fight with Fiona? Why would he come here?

Then I realize this man has no idea who I am.

And there’s no scar on his cheek.

“What do you mean, you know my brother?” the man snaps. “Where the fuck am I?”

Lucidity returns to me in a rush. The last few minutes and the first words of our conversation feel very far away, as if I was underwater and now I’ve suddenly broken above the waves.

I still can’t breathe. What the fuck is going on?

“He’s married to my best friend,” I stutter, desperately trying to gather my thoughts. I haven’t even had any coffee yet, and my brain is reeling at this unexpected change to my comfortable routine.

“Where am I?” he demands.

“Silver Meadows,” my voice comes out as a tiny squeak.

“Where the fuck is that?”

“Ah…” I drift, grasping for words. I don’t know how to answer the question.

He sighs and shakes his head, sitting up to prop his arms on his knees. I can clearly see the defined muscles across his chest and arms, along with a scattering of very dark red hair across his chest. His long legs are sculpted like a dancer’s—all his muscles lithe and graceful instead of bulky.

Calm down, Lucy.

“Let’s make this a bit easier,” he says, glaring at me. His curved red mouth curls a bit when he frowns, making a delicate red bow, and his green eyes seem to darken when he fixes his gaze on me even more intently.

This is the opposite of calming down.

I have to fight the urge to press my thighs together and moan. I’m completely losing it, and I don’t even know why.

He’s smoking-hot nonstop fucking sexy, that’s why! Rider never affected me like this, and they look the same! What the fuck is going on?

“Did you hear me?” he snaps.

I shake my head, biting my lip. “Uh-uh, no, sorry.”

He sighs, blinking hard, then glaring at me again. “I said, where is my brother?”

“Not here,” I answer absently. The sun has risen enough that pale dawn rays are creeping across the yard, gilding his pale skin with a light golden halo. Fiery embers glint in his red hair, and the dark green eyes shimmer with the glow of hidden emeralds.

“Do you know where?” he asks impatiently.

“Where what?” I mutter, thinking about running my fingers down his chest.

I’d bet any money the hair is silky and soft…

“Look, lady, are you okay?” he asks with a scowl. “Do you need a doctor or something?”

“Sorry?” I say, still not listening.

“Fuck,” he spits, shaking his head. “Can you try to keep track of what I’m saying? I’m a bit freaked out over here, and I’m starting to worry this stress has brought on a seizure or something from you. Can you answer that one question before we talk about anything else?”

“Question?” I echo, staring at him.

“Do you need medical attention?”

I close my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath and holding it. Get your fucking shit together right now!

“I’m okay,” I say firmly as I open my eyes. “I’m just… shocked.”

“You and me both,” he says. “I’d apologize, but I’m still not exactly sure what I’ve done. I didn’t choose to do this.”

I nod, still trying to get my brain to come back online.

“I’ll ask again, where is my brother?”

“In New Hope, I’d say,” I answer, relieved that my voice is normal and my mind has properly aligned with my mouth.

“Where is that?”

“Not far. He’s the alpha of the neighboring pack to Silver Meadows.”

“He’s an alpha?”

“Yeah. He just mated and married my best friend a short time ago. She moved over there with their son.”

“He’s got a kid?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I gotta get over there. I’ve been looking for him, and I think he’s been looking for me.”

“Yeah, he has,” I murmur a bit wistfully. I don’t really want him to leave.

“So, you know all about wolves, then?” he asks. “You won’t freak out if I shift in front of you?”

“No, it’s cool. My best friend is a wolf, too. I’m a witch.”

He scoffs a little. “I didn’t think witches were real.”

“Well, you’re looking right at one.”

Looking awfully hard, too.

A warm rush floods through my belly, rising until it makes red spots on my cheeks. He’s checking me out!

Silence falls between us, and for an instant, it’s as if only the two of us are real. The sounds of the world waking up fade away, and all that exists is Peter and me.

“How did I know to come here?” Peter asks, looking at his hands. “My wolf must have taken over in my sleep and run all the way here. But why?”

I’m puzzled, but only for a split second. Suddenly, everything comes back to me. My spell, my desperate call into the ether.

A man just like Rider…

Fuck!

He’s sitting right where I threw the rose stem. The anchor point for the spell.

Fuck, what have I done?

“I…” I shake my head a bit, gulping down my shame. I have to tell him something, I just don’t know what.

I can’t explain about the spell. Obviously, it went wrong, and I’m to blame. I’m not telling some random guy that I cast a love spell because I was lonely and ended up summoning the twin brother of my best friend’s husband!

“Maybe we should go inside,” I suggest. “And just talk for a bit.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t like this at all. I don’t even know you.”

“Oh,” I answer, startled. “I’m Lucy. Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself before.”

“Yeah, because that makes all the difference!” he barks, turning his angry gaze on me. “Now that I know your name, everything is just totally fucking fine.”

“I’m sorry—”

“I wish I could be, but I didn’t do anything except wake up here!” Peter says, his voice rising. “I didn’t even bring my clothes with me, and I need that trench coat!”

I have to gulp down a torrent of words. I desperately want to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but I don’t want to admit that it was mine, either.

I don’t want him to hate me.

Why? Does it even matter? You don’t know this guy.

I suppress a groan of frustration. As well as struggling against the truth of the spell, I’m fighting something else. In the space of five very short minutes, I’ve developed a mega-sized crush on this dude. Maybe… maybe the spell actually worked perfectly.

“Hello?” Peter yells. “You just dropped out of reality again. Are you listening?”

“Sorry,” I stammer. “I’m in shock, I think. I’m just trying to figure out what to do.”

“You and me both,” he grumbles. “Maybe I should go straight over to New Hope and find my brother.”

He gathers himself a bit, and my heart freezes in my chest as my breath gets stuck in my throat. I can’t take my eyes off him.

Don’t… don’t stand up…

In one graceful movement, he stands up. I try as hard as I can not to look, but I can’t stop myself. The long, lean lines of his body display the defined muscles across his chest and perfect abs. My eyes trace the hard-cut lines across his hips, then they scan all the way down his long legs before going back up again, lingering on the especially fun parts.

I haven’t seen a fully naked man in the flesh for such a long time.

“Like what you see?” he asks, noticing my gaze.

I look back at his face, seeing the cute, cocky smile and mischievous glint in his eye. My tongue has crept up to the edge of my mouth. I swallow quickly, trying to get myself back under control, but I can’t stop myself from taking another long look, my eyes slowly moving down his sculpted shoulders and arms. He thrusts his hips out a little and plants his hands on them, showing himself off.

Holy fucking hell.

“I’d take a few steps closer, but I’m afraid you’d have a heart attack,” he says, chuckling.

“I’m sorry,” I gasp, tearing my eyes off his body and locking my gaze on his face. “I’m still half asleep, and it’s been a long time since I saw… uh…”

He crosses his arms across his chest and raises an eyebrow. “No problem at all. I think I’m starting to enjoy this.”

A surge of joy leaps inside me, bringing a huge smile to my face. Carefree giggles rise in my throat, and I cover my mouth, shaking my head.

I haven’t felt this happy in… I don’t know how long.

“Well, I’d get you something to wear,” I say. “But truth be told, I’m enjoying this, too.”

Peter slowly and deliberately looks me up and down, his expression a mixture of teasing and a deep, ravenous hunger. A deep throbbing starts up between my thighs, and my mouth goes brick-dry. He grins, winking at me.

I bite my lip, fighting the arousal roaring through my blood. “Terribly sorry I can’t return the favor,” I say, though I give him a cheeky look. I put one hand on my hip and pose a little. “But I’m not the kind of girl who gets naked on the first date.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” he says, chuckling again. “The sun has turned that flimsy little nightgown see-through. I’ve been checking out your goods for a while now.”

“What?!” I shriek, covering myself and bolting for the house. I slam the kitchen door on my way to the bedroom, where I grab my big, fluffy robe and put it on. I grab my spare one for Peter and hurry back through the house, shock and shame colliding inside me to make a big lump in my throat.

As I turned and ran from Peter, I experienced a strange sensation. It’s as if the air got thick, to the point I could hardly breathe or move. Once I grab the robes and run back towards him, it’s almost like time sped up. I’m back in the yard so quickly that I don’t even remember going through the door.

“Here,” I say, tossing the robe at him. “Enough of this. We need to figure out what to do.”

“Fair enough,” he answers, putting on the robe.

I stare at him for a minute, anxiously biting my lip. I don’t know what to do.

I should just tell him to leave and give him directions for New Hope. It’s the obvious thing to do. But I really don’t want him to go.

I could call Fiona and Rider—at some point, I’ll have to—but I’m scared of admitting what I’ve done.

My mind flips back and forth, and my anxiety rises. I need coffee. Maybe I should just invite him in.

Are you going to make breakfast before or after you fuck him senseless?

I groan softly, shaking my head. Even though this is a complete disaster, I’m not sorry the spell went wrong.

“Well?” Peter asks, somehow looking ten times as hot in the robe’s fake black fur. “Have you decided what we should do?”

I shake my head, not trusting my voice.

There are plenty of things we should do. But there’s only one thing I really want to do.