Free Darkness Taunts by Susan Illene Page B

did not get plowed regularly. I’d needed every bit of my military off-road driving skills to get through it. Something told me Derrick had let it get that way on purpose.
    “You coming?” I asked Charlie as I hopped out of the Jeep. Damn, the snow came up to my knees. There’d only been a narrow place to park.
    “Nope. This one is up to you. I’ll be here waiting when you get out.” He sat there as if he had all the time in the world.
    I tossed him the keys. “Fine. You can keep it warm so I don’t have to find a place to plug the vehicle in.”
    The visit probably wouldn’t take long, but after hearing numerous horror stories I lived in constant fear of my engine block freezing. I didn’t want to take any chances. During the winter in Fairbanks, you had to plug your vehicle into an electric outlet or have some other way to keep it warm when it wasn’t turned on. If the engine froze and you tried to start it, you could forget it ever working again. The temperature was still about negative thirty this morning and the forecast didn’t expect it to heat up to more than negative ten. Better to be safe than sorry.
    I trudged through the snow to Derrick’s porch and knocked on the front door. My senses told me he was inside but in another part of the cabin. A full minute went by while I stood there shivering. Damn, it was cold this morning. I’d never get used to this crap no matter what anyone said.
    The doorknob twisted in my hand—he hadn’t bothered to lock it. A werewolf living out in the bush didn’t exactly have much to worry about. There weren’t any humans living nearby and he could handle most wild animals, except maybe bears. I never wanted to have another run-in with a black bear again. We’d barely come out of the last incident alive.
    I walked into the cabin to find it a mess. For me it would have been a step up, but for him it was bad. Papers and empty beer bottles littered the coffee table. A blanket stretched across the couch as if he’d slept there instead of his bed. The open kitchen had a few dirty dishes. Nothing near what I’d let it pile up to if Emily didn’t have that chore, but much more than Derrick would normally allow. Things had gotten much worse than I realized.
    “Derrick,” I called out. I sensed him in the bathroom, but I didn’t want to go in there unless I had to.
    A full minute later—no answer. I knocked on the door. Nothing. No strong emotions came from him either, though I thought I heard light snoring. I shifted from foot to foot. I really didn’t want to go in there.
    The door slid open without having to twist the knob. I groaned when I saw him. He lay completely naked in the bathtub. Good thing weres didn’t get hypothermia since he’d filled it with water at some point before passing out. He must have shifted to his wolf form last night and gone on a run. There was a definite reddish-brown tint to the water, implying he’d been out on the prowl. Derrick didn’t like to hurt animals, but his wolf had no problem hunting them when it took over.
    I hesitated at the doorway. How to wake a man as large as him without risking getting hurt in the process? The longer I stood there debating, the more my eyes took in his naked form. I’d had enough temptation in the last couple of days without adding to it.
    Derrick didn’t have classic good looks. His face was too rugged and square for that, but his body was enough to make any woman drool. I’d seen it all before from other times he’d shifted and not dressed right away. That didn’t stop me from noticing the cold water didn’t affect him the same way it did most men.
    I really needed to find a human guy who could keep my interest long enough to get him in bed. This was getting ridiculous. I grabbed a bottle of Listerine mouth wash and tossed it at his head. His eyes popped open, but the glazed look in them told me he wasn’t aware enough to recognize me.
    Shit. I closed the door and dashed for the living