Wild About You

He flexed his left hand. It was still sore from touching her. Apparently, the mysteriously hot birthmark was on her right shoulder.

“I’ll discuss it with my husband,” Shanna distracted him as she continued her conversation with Alastair. “We’ll give you an answer tomorrow night.”

“Excellent,” Alastair replied.

“Our biggest concern is the school down the road,” Shanna added. “We can’t allow any mention of it, and none of your employees can go anywhere near it.”

Alastair nodded. “Understood.”

Howard knew Roman and Angus wouldn’t be pleased to have a production crew so close to the academy. It was a definite security risk, but the prospect of having Elsa so close was too tempting to resist. He refocused his attention on her.

“Yes,” she whispered in the car. “I did touch someone. We shook hands.”

He tensed, waiting for more.

“No, he was a perfect gentleman.” Elsa gasped. “Greta! I don’t believe it. There was nothing wild or crazy about him.”

He winced.

“I can’t go home,” Elsa insisted. “I’m working here.” A pause. “No. You don’t need to come here. Really, Greta, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“We’ll be staying at the inn in Cranville,” Alastair told Shanna. “I’ll have a contract ready tomorrow night and hope for the best.”

Shanna nodded and gave Howard a questioning look. “You’re all right with representing Roman and me?”

“Sure. No problem.” He caught the end of Elsa’s line.

“I told you I don’t believe in that nonsense!”

He gritted his teeth. What nonsense?

“Do we really have to make such a big deal out of this?” Elsa asked. “He seemed perfectly safe to me. And normal.”

Howard groaned inwardly. The truth was he wasn’t normal. And if he pursued Elsa, he’d eventually have to tell her he was a were-bear. Would she be able to handle it? Maybe, if she liked him enough. He could have sworn she had felt an attraction before his touch had caused her to burn. What the hell was that about?

Elsa sighed. “Okay. I’ll try to avoid him. Yes, I’ll be careful. I’ll call you later. Bye.” She lowered the phone to her lap, frowning.

“I don’t believe in it,” she muttered to herself, then shook her head. “Why should I avoid him?”

Howard agreed. There was no way he’d let her avoid him. He strode to the driver’s side window and tapped on it.

She jumped and gave him a wary look.

“Are you all right?”

She paused, then cracked the door open a few inches. “I’m fine, thank you. We should be going now. If you could tell Alastair—”

“How is your shoulder?”

A fleeting look of shock crossed her face. “I’m fine.”

“I have a first-aid kit in my truck.” He motioned toward his SUV.

“I don’t need anything.” She dropped her phone into her handbag, refusing to look at him. “We’ve put in a really long day, so Alastair and I should go.”

He glanced at Alastair, who was describing some of his plans to Shanna, in no apparent hurry to leave.

“I’ll be right back.” He jogged to his SUV to retrieve the burn ointment from the first-aid kit.

“Here.” He handed her the tube through the narrow crack in the door. “You need to treat the burn on your shoulder as soon as possible.”

“Thank you.” She accepted the ointment, carefully avoiding any contact with his hand. “How did you know?”

“I touched you.” He showed her his palm, still pink from heat. “I felt it.”

She winced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I—I don’t know why it happened.”

Fate. That was why. From the moment he’d first spied her on television, he’d felt a bond to her, a strong and irrevocable attachment. He leaned close to the narrow opening. “Did you have dinner? I could meet you and Alastair at the diner in town.”

“Well, I—I am hungry, but . . .”

“Good. I’ll see you there.”

She turned to him with an alarmed expression. “I don’t really know you.”

Howard straightened, dragging a hand through his hair. Maybe he was pushing too fast. “I’m sorry. I’ve been watching your show every week for months, so I feel like I already know you.” But did he know the real Elsa? She might be different than the persona she portrayed on television.

“You . . . watch the show?”

He smiled. “You seem surprised.”

Her cheeks flushed a light pink. “You don’t seem like the type to be into home decorating.”

He was more into watching her, but that admission would probably scare her off. “I love the show. I think you guys do amazing work.”

Her blush deepened. “Thank you.”

“So how about a quick hamburger in town? It would give you and Alastair a chance to know me better, since we’ll be working together.”

She gave him a wry look. “You’re persistent, aren’t you?”

“I don’t give up easily.” Not when I want something as badly as I want you.

Her eyes met his, and a fierce longing hit him in the gut. He clenched his fists to keep from wrenching the door off her car and pulling her into his arms.

Her words came back to him: There was nothing wild or crazy about him. He’d have to control the animal inside him or end up scaring her away.

A multitude of emotions danced in her eyes—desire, fear, frustration, regret. Whatever had caused the burn was making her afraid. But the desire was there—he could hear it in her heartbeat, smell it in her blood, feel it radiating just beneath her skin.

His choice for strategy was obvious. Make her desire greater than her fear. Give her so much joy and pleasure that she had no room for regret. Channel her frustration into more desire until she was burning for him.

The bear inside him growled in anticipation. He smiled slowly. “I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes at the diner.”

She nodded, her cheeks still flushed, then she turned away and tapped on the horn to get Alastair’s attention. He shook Shanna’s hand, then climbed into the car.

Howard stepped back as Elsa drove away. Why did her birthmark burn when he touched her? Dammit, he’d better be able to touch her again without hurting her.

“Well?” Shanna ran toward him, her eyes glittering with excitement. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re one hell of a matchmaker.”

She grinned. “She’s perfect for you.”

“I’m grateful.” He tilted his head. “But curious. How did you know . . .”

Shanna’s smile faded, and she ducked her head. “Well, it’s sorta a long story. Tino was missing you so much that he suggested I move some of your belongings to the school so you could live there with us, and then he mentioned some secret DVDs under your bed—”

Howard stiffened. “You looked through my stuff?”

“Tino said you were watching adult DVDs with a girl and two guys named Big Al and The Hammer—”

He snorted.

“As a responsible parent, I had to check it out.” She flashed a smile at him. “But it all worked out for the best, right?”