Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

“ H e signals the wolves to hunt.”

Olivia jumped and turned to face Fay.

“Sorry to frighten you,” Fay apologized.

“I was lost in thought, watching a large, black wolf in the front of the castle. Did one escape the preserve?”

“Nay, that’s Laird.”

Olivia’s first thought was that Fay was referring to Tiernan but that was another absurd thought.

“He’s called Laird because he is the leader of the pack that dominates the preserve. The first snow has him leaving the preserve and roaming wherever he pleases on MacMadadh land. Lord Tiernan allows him free rein in the winter when the place is closed. He’s a fierce protector of his pack and keeps his distance from humans. His howl was a call for his pack to hunt.” Fay smiled playfully. “But you need not hunt for your food, supper awaits. Lord Tiernan sends his apologies. He will not be joining you for supper. There is an ill wolf that needs his attention.”

“I can help,” Olivia said, taking an anxious step forward.

“A kind offer but not necessary. Besides, with the wolf not familiar with your scent, your presence might upset him.”

“That’s true,” Olivia said. “When it comes to wolves, I am always eager to help. They are such magnificent creatures. I just can’t resist them.”

“I hope you get a chance to meet some of the wolves, but with the way the snowstorm shifted, you might be wise to take the first train out of here tomorrow. If not, you may be stuck for some time, possibly throughout the winter.”

Either way, it was devastating news. She wasn’t ready to leave yet, and she certainly wasn’t ready to be marooned here for the winter. Unless, of course, she had a position here.

“The train engineer did warn me about that,” Olivia said.

“Well, nothing can be done about it until morning. So, come and enjoy some Scottish steak pie. It will warm your innards and fill you on this snowy night,” Fay encouraged.

Olivia cast a quick glance at the three books on the coffee table. “Would it be all right if I brought those three books with me?”

“I’m sure his lordship wouldn’t mind.”

Olivia smiled and grabbed them off the table, along with her tote from the couch, and followed Fay to a small dining room.

“This is quite lovely, Fay, but for future meals without his lordship, the kitchen would suit me just fine.”

Fay laughed softly. “Maybe you, but not his lordship. When you finish, I will see you to your bedroom with a pot of tea for the evening, then I’ll be leaving with my husband for our cottage.”

“I will be alone in the castle until Lord Tiernan returns?”

“No worries. We don’t have any ghosts, and the werewolves aren’t allowed in the castle.”

Olivia stared at her, not knowing what to say, and Fay started laughing.

“You have a wicked sense of humor,” Olivia said, taking a seat at a table meant for four. “So, does everyone know it’s werewolves that bring me here?”

“Mostly, but they’re a good lot and won’t tease you too much. Now, no rush, enjoy your meal. Hubby and I will be in the kitchen. Just tinkle that little bell by your plate if you need anything and I’ll hear it.”

Olivia sat staring at the delicious-looking crust on the steak pie, her thoughts far from food. She felt her hopes dashed at acquiring a position here since none of the staff would take her seriously knowing her assignment. Did Tiernan feel the same way? He might have mentioned that her resume impressed him but what about this assignment? Did he feel that she was foolish for accepting such a task?

There was nothing she could do about it now. She was here and had to make the most of it and, being she was not one to give up when it came to her career, that was what she intended to do… make the most of it. That was if the snow would let her.

Olivia stood in the bedroom glancing around after Fay left. The room was comfortably heated, the fire in the fireplace contributing to its toasty warmth. Thick gold-framed portraits, she surmised were various MacMadadh ancestors, graced a good portion of the walls, but the piece that caught the eye the most was the corniced and heavily draped full-sized, four-poster bed. It beckoned her, the long day having finally caught up with her. She had planned to continue reading through the three books she still had with her, but she was too tired. She was glad she declined the tea Fay had offered her, having had more than enough to eat and drink at supper.

She hurried to retrieve her flannel pjs from her luggage and her toiletry bag as well and hurried through her nightly routine in the bathroom, then eagerly got into bed. She sighed with pleasure, the mattress a bit soft, just as she liked it, as she settled beneath the warm blankets. And as soon as she closed her eyes sleep took hold.

Olivia didn’t know what woke her, a sound, or a scent, maybe, but when she opened her eyes, she froze. Beside her bed stood the black wolf she had seen out the window… Laird. He stared at her with those bold green eyes, but he showed her no teeth, and she felt he meant no harm. He stepped closer with a soft whine, and she remained frozen, unable to move. He placed his muzzle against her cheek, caressing it softly, then he stepped back and stared at her a moment, then he was gone. She continued to lay there unable to move.

A dream.

It was a dream, and she had to wake up. She closed her eyes and told herself repeatedly to wake up.

She woke with a start to morning light peeking through the heavy drapes. Had it been a dream? Or had she returned to sleep and only now woken up? She wasn’t sure and she did not want to speculate. One thing that puzzled her and gave her pause to think about it was the wolf’s action in the dream. His soft whine and the way he nuzzled her cheek, both were the courting signs of a wolf.

“You are reading too much into this, Olivia,” she admonished herself. It was a dream. Nothing more than a dream.

A sudden gust of wind tapping at the window reminded her of a potential snowstorm and she hurried to the window and threw open the drapes and gasped. It was a blizzard, snow falling so heavily that she could barely see anything.

She rushed through a shower and hurried on warm, black leggings and a red knit top that hugged her slender curves. After brushing her teeth and securing her long hair into a ponytail, she slipped on black socks and flats. She grabbed a black fleece vest from her suitcase and slipped it on before swinging the door open ready to rush out.

She rushed right into Tiernan.

He caught her around the waist as she crashed into him, and she thought for a moment that she hit a tree trunk, his body felt so hard. She hadn’t even budged him, and damn if he didn’t look appealing in jeans and a black knit shirt that highlighted the muscles in his arms and chest. But it was his rugged scent she found most alluring. She almost took a deep drag of it but stopped herself.

“Are you all right?” he asked concerned. “I was just about to knock.”

“My fault,” Olivia said. “I was so eager to find out about the snow that I was in a rush.”

She didn’t mind that his arm lingered around her waist. She liked the feel of it. It was as if he cradled her, their bodies resting against each other’s.

“I am afraid the news isn’t good. The snowstorm worsened overnight. Blizzard conditions exist and the train has been cancelled until further notice. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will be stuck here for the winter.”

“What does it mean?” she asked anxiously.

“It depends on what follows this snowstorm. It will be a day or so before we know for sure. I suggest we take one day at a time. You can do your research and when the snow calms, I can take you to meet some of the wolves. But right now, I suggest we enjoy breakfast.”

The thought of meeting the wolves enticed Olivia. Besides, she had no other recourse. She had to make the most of her current situation and use the time wisely.

“Come,” he said, taking hold of her hand. “I am going to show you the way to the kitchen, so that you may come and go more freely in the castle.”

Olivia was about to tell him about seeing Laird but stopped. This time she intended to pay attention so she could learn how to maneuver the castle freely, as Tiernan said. He pointed out various things as landmarks to help guide her and make finding her way about that much easier. What she hadn’t expected was how his warm hand clutched firmly around hers charged her senses and tickled her passion. Never had simply holding a man’s hand flared her desire. She couldn’t even recall holding a man’s hand. Had those moments been that unmemorable or had she been that disinterested?

“I’m afraid Fay won’t be joining us due to the blizzard, so I will be your chef for the day,” Tiernan said, upon entering the kitchen. He released her hand and walked over to the teakettle on the stove and lit a flame in the burner beneath it.

He turned a smile on her. “I’m experienced at many things, Olivia, but I am afraid that a chef is not one of them. However, I am not bad at cooking scrambled eggs.”

She laughed. “We’re lucky then that I can cook.”

“Can you now?” he asked with a bit of glee.

“Something I am good at.” She smiled. “Among other things.”

Was she flirting with Laird Tiernan? She never flirted. She wasn’t even sure she knew how.

“Let’s see what’s in your fridge,” she said, wondering what was wrong with her. How many times did she need to remind herself that she wanted to work for this man?

While she cut veggies and prepared eggs for omelets, Tiernan set the table. She thought it a good time to tell him about seeing the large, black wolf.

“Aye, that is Laird,” Tiernan confirmed when she finished detailing what she had seen from her window. “He’s the alpha over all the packs and has been for a long time. Not many will challenge him, and he wisely sends those he feels can lead a pack off on their own to do so. But he retains dominance over the area.”

“I can see why. He was quite impressive.”

“Did you find anything in the library that may help you write about the sexual appetites of werewolves?” he asked.

“A strange book that might provide some ideas, all of it pure fiction.”

“ The Allure of Werewolves ,” Tiernan said.

“You’re familiar with the book?”

“Aye. In my search for books on wolves, I inevitably come across books on werewolves. When I heard about that particular one, I searched for it. It wasn’t an easy find, but when I want something, I don’t give up until I get it.”

“Something we have in common. I can be quite persistent when I want something,” she said, placing a teapot steeping with tea along with a plate of toast on the table. The omelets came next, and conversation nearly ceased while they ate.

“I owe you an apology, Olivia, for you having to cook your own breakfast, but I must admit that I am not sorry. This omelet is absolutely delicious.”

Olivia smiled, enjoying the compliment since she mostly cooked for herself and received little feedback except when she visited her two brothers.

“While I have you to myself—” she nearly shook her head at her poor choice of words, but it didn’t matter since he interrupted her.

“I am all yours, Olivia.”

Again, she wondered how he could make her name sound so seductive, let alone suggest he was all hers as if saying do what you will to me. Something she wouldn’t mind pursuing.

Where did that thought come from?

She recalled something she read in The Allure of Werewolves of how a werewolf had the skill to seduce a woman by just speaking her name.

Fiction . The book was pure fiction even if it claimed otherwise. There was no such thing as werewolves. This assignment was making her crazy.

His arm stretched out across the table and for a moment she thought he was going to touch her and, like a fool, was disappointed when his hand grasped the teapot’s handle, and he refilled her mug and then his.

“You can ask me anything, Olivia.”

There were endless questions that ran through her mind, but all were personal and had nothing to do with her assignment or in acquiring a position at the preserve. She wanted to know more about him, but he wasn’t her assignment… werewolves were.

The question she asked wasn’t the one she planned on asking and thought herself foolish when she did. “Do you have any opinions on what a werewolf’s sexual appetite might be like?”

But to her surprise, he answered seriously. “You’re dealing with part human, part wolf. The differences in both would have to be considered. As you know a male wolf courts a female wolf in order to mate and produce a litter of pups. They mate once a year, whereas humans have sex out of desire, need, satisfaction, and many do so quite often and with a variety of partners, not so a wolf. In my experience, most wolves mate for life, though some wolf experts disagree. Those that don’t mate for life are ones that lose their mate and find another, or their mate fails in his or her duties forcing a search for a more suitable one.”

“Much like humans,” Olivia said.

“True, but wolves have a courtship period, humans don’t. They often have sex before even getting to know each other.”

“So, where do you think that leaves werewolves when it comes to sex?” Olivia asked, enjoying the strange though surprisingly informative conversation she was having with him. “Do you think their sexual appetites more resemble humans or wolves?”

“I believe you would need to understand werewolves better to answer that.”

“According to The Allure of Werewolves , a werewolf’s sexual appetite is so insatiable that no one woman could satisfy a werewolf’s need, that the beast in him drives his hunger. It sounds quite ridiculous to even contemplate the sex life of a werewolf when they are nothing more than mythical creatures. It’s all in the imagination.”

“And what does your imagination tell you about a werewolf’s sex life?” Tiernan asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how to marry the human and the wolf to create a werewolf’s sexual appetite. Do they mate like wolves or humans? Do they mate only once a year like wolves or do werewolves embrace sex more often like humans? Or are werewolves more hungry or needy for sex than humans? What drives their desire? Do they love? Or is it nothing more than an animalistic need? Questions that can never truly be answered since werewolves don’t exist.”

“So, you will rely on your imagination to write the piece?”

“That and whatever else I can learn from your sizeable collection of books on werewolves. Maybe, also, meeting some of your wolves and thinking of them as werewolves might prove helpful. I would love to meet Laird. He is a handsome and powerful wolf.”

“A good example of a werewolf?”

She smiled. “I believe I could let my imagination run wild and imagine him as a handsome human.”

Tiernan stood and Olivia worried she had somehow offended him, and he was bringing their conversation to a close.

He walked around to stand behind her chair then leaned down over her. Bracing his hands on the table to either side of her, he rubbed his cheek along hers and nuzzled her neck before whispering, “You don’t have to imagine Laird as a human… you’ve already met him as one.”