Chapter 1
This is not happening!
Jace Beckett halted his advance on the group of guests as they exited the shuttle van to stand before the entrance of the Circle Three Ranch. He could smell her, damn it! He looked over the group of tourists with a critical eye. The last thing he needed right now was another complication in his life.
The small group looked around with barely contained excitement. The new arrivals consisted of two newly married couples, a family of four, and four single bookings. He had looked over the list that morning. Once again, he had to push down his anger. He had finally allowed his beta to introduce this new addition to his ranch. Jackson had said that the vacation getaway would be an instant success. But Jace hadn’t wanted to open his pack to the dangers of what humans could do them. He should have known better. He did know better. And it pissed him off.
Jackson, get your tail to the main entrance. Now! The anger in Jace’s voice was unmistakable. And he didn’t much care right then. Hell, he hoped his anger echoed in Jackson’s head and gave him a blinding headache. It would serve him right.
Jace? What’s wrong? Jackson’s concerned voice entered Jace’s head, and he had a brief moment of sympathy for his beta. But only a brief moment.
He stalked toward the guests, staring down at them, unwilling to play the cordial host. It was not his nature to welcome outsiders to his ranch, putting his pack in jeopardy. What had he been thinking?
“If you would all come inside and sign in, we’ll get you assigned to your room accommodations,” he told them gruffly. Reaching up to settle his black cowboy hat more securely atop his head, he looked them over with cool, hard eyes, the sky blue shade flashing briefly with anger as he tried to figure out which of the five women before him was the one who was sending his senses into overdrive.
He scanned the group slowly, seeing the fear in their eyes as they looked up at him. Two of the women looked at him with definite interest, but he found no appeal in either their looks or their demeanor. They looked like every one of the women in town who had tried over the years to trap him with their lies and phoniness. He had long since realized that no woman could be trusted. They had only one thing in mind—using him to live a life of excess, with no thought of contribution to his life or his pack. Well, he wouldn’t let that happen. No woman was going to get him to take care of her for the rest of her life.
He indicated the main entrance to the ranch and stepped back, watching the group as they made their way around him, obviously giving him a wide berth. He knew he was an intimidating bastard, and that made him immensely glad. His height of six feet five inches and his heavily muscled frame served to deter many would-be challengers to his position of alpha of one of the largest and strongest packs in Colorado. If his size and fighting skills didn’t deter the challengers, his disposition did.
Outside packs were not willing to chance a physical challenge against him. He had proven himself an expert and strong fighter, a determined fighter, who would not back down. He never lost a challenge. He protected his pack members with a fierce loyalty and would do so until the day he took his last breath. But even this was not something he was willing to do.
The guests walked up the front porch steps quickly, none of them even drawing any interest from him. He took in a deep breath, scenting her once again. The scent wasn’t coming from the group that had just passed him. His brow furrowed in confusion. He knew he scented her. Where was she?
He turned and saw one woman standing to the left of the shuttle, struggling with luggage from a car that was obviously on its last leg, its make more than ten years old. She was reaching into the trunk and pulling her overnight bag out, letting it fall to the ground before she reached back in to pull a larger suitcase to the edge. It tipped precariously, and she used her body to hold it against the back of the car, awkwardly trying to keep it from falling. Her desperation was obvious.
Jace stepped forward, and in three long strides was by her side. Breathing in deeply, his heart raced. Her scent filled his lungs, and he barely contained the growl of possession that threatened to erupt from him. Damn, but her scent soothed him deep down to his very soul. Every bit of denial left him. There was no denying her.
He wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms and never let her go. And that pissed him off more than anything. Instead, he reached forward and took the bag from her. He looked down at her, unable to do more than stare at the voluptuous beauty before him. She was beautiful in a way that nearly hurt him. She had curves in all the right places, and he wanted to touch every bit of her. He wanted to lay her out before him and feast on her. And he wanted her naked. Now.