everything in sight. Was she right? Was Howard dangerous to be around? But why would Shanna trust him to watch over her son if he wasn’t safe?
Was this the duality she’d sensed about him? Powerful, but restrained. Strong, but gentle. Tough, but kind. Human, but animal?
“No!” She clenched her fists. “I won’t believe it.”
Hours later, in a fitful sleep, she started to dream. A beautiful man came to her in the night. Large and powerful, he covered her body with his. His big hands roamed over her skin, setting her on fire. She wanted him. She cried out for him. She burned for him.
His hands were magic. Skimming the length of her legs. Fondling her breasts. Stroking her neck. Tightening their grip.
Choking her.
She thrashed against him, but he was too strong. Too powerful.
With a cry, Elsa sat up. She panted in the dark, searching the room. No one was there. It was just a dream.
With trembling hands, she turned on the light, then checked the room more carefully. No one there.
She splashed cold water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror, half expecting to see red marks on her neck. Nothing there.
It was just a dream. No doubt her subconscious was trying to process the new information she’d learned. Or it was trying to scare the hell out of her.
It had to be a psychic thing. Her brain was doing this to protect her. It was warning her what could happen to her in the future. If she wasn’t careful.
If she continued to see Howard.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, bright and early, Howard parked his SUV behind Elsa’s rental car in front of the gatehouse. He’d gone into town to pick up a few dozen donuts, and he’d planned on surprising Elsa with them for breakfast. When he’d noticed her car was missing from the motel parking lot, he’d surmised that she and Alastair were at the gatehouse.
Shanna was doing her best to help with his courting. Last night, she’d left a detailed list with him to pass on to Elsa and Alastair so he’d have a good excuse to drop by this morning. He grabbed the donuts, along with a brown envelope containing Shanna’s list, then strode toward the house.
The front door was slightly ajar, so he nudged it open with his foot. “Hello?”
Alastair peered out an open doorway near the end of the foyer. His eyes narrowed. “Ah, Howard. Come on in.”
“I have breakfast.” He lifted the box as he crossed the foyer. “And a note from Shanna.”
“Excellent.”
Howard followed Alastair into what appeared to be the old kitchen. A quick glance around told him the room would need a massive amount of work. It was devoid of all modern appliances and, sadly, also devoid of Elsa.
He set the donut box and envelope on an old scarred table. “Shanna sent a list of things she wanted. She said you’d gone over most of it last night, but she wanted it in writing.”
“I understand.” Alastair pulled two water bottles from an ice chest on the floor and handed one to Howard. “I’ll take a look.”
Howard sat carefully in an old rickety chair by the table. It groaned under his weight. While he sipped some water, he strained his hearing to detect where in the house Elsa might be. If she was here, she was being very quiet.
He glanced at Alastair, who was studying the list, frowning. He wasn’t behaving in his usual cheerful, charming way.
Alastair nodded. “Yes, this all sounds familiar. They’re fairly common requests, except for wanting a second master bedroom suite in the basement. No windows. Sounds a bit gloomy to me.” He set the list down on the table. “She mentioned her mother would be living with them, so I assume they plan on stashing the ol’ gel in the cellar.”
Howard nodded, although he knew Shanna and Roman would be using the basement.
Alastair helped himself to a donut. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to inspect the cellar yet. The old wooden staircase is half rotted away, and the only other access point is outside, the old coal chute. Oskar will bring a ladder when he comes this afternoon, so we’ll have a look then.”
“Sounds good.” Howard drank more water. “So is Elsa around?”
Alastair shot him an annoyed look. “You’ll have to conduct all your business meetings with me or Oskar. Elsa has requested not to see you again.”
Howard’s mouth dropped open.
Alastair scowled at him. “I don’t know what you did last night, but I don’t appreciate you scaring the hell out of her. She’s a nice—”
“What?”
“She looked dreadful this morning. Black circles under her eyes. She wouldn’t say what had upset her, but it was obvious she hadn’t slept a wink.”
“She—she’s upset?”
Alastair gulped down some water. “So what happened? Did you make a pass at her?”
“I—”
“I’m not blind, you know. I could tell you two were attracted to each other, and quite frankly, I was delighted for Ellie. She’s a lovely woman and deserves to be happy—”
“I didn’t hurt her.” Howard gritted his teeth. “I would never hurt her.”
“Well.” Alastair eyed him suspiciously. “I’ll have to take your word on that. But for now, I expect you to honor her wishes and stay away from her.”
“Where is she? Is she all right?”
Alastair lifted a brow. “She’ll be here later with Oskar and the crew. In other words, she will be surrounded by a group of brawny construction workers who consider her their darling little sister.”
Howard’s inner bear growled at the implied threat. Did they really believe he was a danger to Elsa?
He rose to his feet. “I would never harm her. And I will honor her wishes. You have my word.”
Alastair nodded. “Good.” He extended a hand. “No hard feelings, ol’ chap. Let’s continue to work well together.”
Howard shook his hand, then strode from the house.
A few minutes later, he found himself parked in front of the motel in Cranville. He’d been in such a daze that he couldn’t remember driving there.
He gazed at her door. Room number five. Even here, he could detect a hint of her lovely scent. What had happened to make her suddenly reject him? Had he moved too fast the night before? Kissed her too hard?
He replayed the scene in his mind, trying to figure out where he’d gone wrong. Yes, he’d kissed her with passion, but she had kissed him back. She hadn’t seemed insulted or frightened by him.
Damn. He raked a hand through his hair. What the hell had upset her? Had she experienced a delayed reaction to being teleported? If that was freaking her out, then how would she ever handle the truth about him being a shifter?
He might never get the chance to tell her. She might insist on never seeing him again.
Despair slammed into him, nearly doubling him over. The bear inside him howled in pain. It rammed against his defenses, demanding release. It needed to run, needed to destroy a poor tree with a few ferocious swipes, needed to shred and devour a helpless animal.
“Later,” he whispered, sweat beading on his brow as he tightened his control on the beast. Charging around town as a grizzly bear would not help his cause. What he needed now was a new strategy.
