Free A Howl for a Highlander by Terry Spear Page B

tonight.”
    “No, I don’t normally eat this late. I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I’m fine, thanks. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.” She quickly pulled out of his grasp and headed for her bedroom—alone—before she changed her mind and let him sleep with her. She was pretty damned sure that sleeping wouldn’t be all they’d be doing if they were together. She’d always thought herself levelheaded, someone who wouldn’t do anything that crazy, but around Duncan, she wasn’t so sure.
    “Good night, lassie.” A hint of longing was in his voice—for her or her bed? Or a little of both?
    ***
    Duncan cursed himself for craving the female wolf so damned much as he drove across the island to Sal’s estate. Thinking about her would come to no good, but he couldn’t quit envisioning all her curves and the softness of her breasts as they’d pressed against him—all but her nipples, which had become hard little pearls—how her belly had pressed against his erection, the feel of her buttocks tightening as he caressed the smooth flesh, and the way her lips teased and tantalized him, her tongue doing a number on his. That’s what he couldn’t quit thinking of as he drove around the island, searching for Silverman’s house.
    He even thought about her visiting and sharing his bed with him back home! That made his loins tighten once again. His mother would say that if he took a female wolf to bed, he was mated, whether he did the deed or not. She was of the old world, where couples did not share a bed without agreeing to a mating. She often quoted his cousin’s earlier demise due to his lack-witted dallying with a married lass whose husband had taken it upon himself to kill the interloper. Now, Flynn haunted the castle. Not that Duncan was going to dishonor the family in any way or get himself into a bind like that.
    Once again, he reminded himself why he was here. No matter what Guthrie had said, Duncan felt this was their best chance at retrieving the money. Guthrie was still trying to come up with ways to make the castle solvent without the funds. The movie deal had paid off their debts for the short term, but they had to get their investments back from Silverman to make it in the long run.
    Ian, the laird of Argent and the eldest of the quads, was busy running the clan and pack and distracted by one sexy red wolf, his new mate who was a werewolf romance writer. The second oldest brother, Cearnach, managed a lot of the details of operating the estate as Ian’s second in command. So Duncan was free to do as he pleased.
    Simply as a matter of pride, though, he wasn’t going to let the bastard get away with the theft.
    He finally spied Silverman’s white stucco house, a blue iguana running across the red tile roof. A gated entry kept Duncan from getting close to the beachside home, but he figured he could run along the beach and get closer that way. The place most likely had tons of security so Duncan’s best bet probably was to wait until the bastard left his estate on some errand or another and then confront him face-to-face.
    He parked nearby, got out of the rental car, and began to jog down the beach toward Silverman’s house, wearing his black pants and T-shirt and boots. Only another wolf would see him in the dark. Although it was never a good idea to make assumptions about an enemy, Guthrie hadn’t found that Silverman had any ties to a wolf pack. He seemed to be a loner who only hooked up with humans. Not having a werewolf pack protecting Sal Silverman’s back gave Duncan the advantage, if Guthrie had been correct.
    As Duncan neared the house, a couple of dogs barked. Silverman had guard dogs? Lights were on all over the place and security lights all over the grounds also. A couple of men headed for the back patio in the direction of the beach, looking to see what had disturbed the dogs.
    Duncan growled and turned around and ran back the other way. No sense in being ID’d by a couple of