Seduced by a Shifter(17)
It made her grin, the human-like quality of the action. So entertained, Willow barely acknowledged Rome’s chastising words of leaving the cabin alone as he guided her back inside.
What a weird and wonderful place Woodcliff was turning out to be.
Chapter Six
Wind ruffled Ben’s hair as he headed towards the far side of the ski lodge. The top part of the massive two-story building held a restaurant/bar and lounge for those who wanted to watch the skiers descending the slopes through the floor-to-ceiling windows in comfort. A large deck extended the whole length of the lodge, with several picnic benches and patio heaters to provide another entertaining option. In the summer months, people escaped the heat of the cities and practically camped out on that deck, eating, drinking, and having a good time until they had to get back to their nine-to-fives, grumbling all the way.
To Ben’s thinking, a job that required him to be enclosed inside for eight hours a day, five days a week, was hell. It wasn’t just his wolf that wanted the freedom to move and run in the fresh air, because he knew plenty of shifters that handled indoor jobs with no problem. It was his personality. To come and go with relative ease, chat with everyone he came into contact with, and do it all in this beautiful setting? Yeah. It fit his friendly, easygoing manner perfectly.
As he stepped inside the crowded ski rental section located in the lower half of the lodge, he stopped to assist a family of five that were having trouble removing their snow- and ice-caked boots. Noticing the eldest daughter, all of maybe fourteen, peeking at him as he freed her feet, he sent her a wink, causing her cheeks to flush with embarrassment. Hearing the infatuated sigh of the young girl as he left the happy family had him grinning.
He walked behind the counter, slapping a co-worker on the shoulder in greeting, and passed through the storage area into another section of the lodge. Here they rented snowmobiles in the winter and quads in the summer.
Opening one of the tall metal cabinets along one wall, he withdrew two helmets, inspecting them for damage before laying them on the long workbench. He heard James, another co-worker and shifter, enter the garage and head in his direction. Shutting the metal doors, Ben sidled over to reach for a set of keys on the corkboard above the bench. “I’m taking number five out for a couple of hours.”
“Yeah?” James leaned a shoulder against the cabinet. “Don’t suppose you’re taking that chick for a ride.”
Ben’s fingers tightened around the pen he held to sign the vehicle out, knowing exactly of whom James referred to. Willow’s presence, and reason for it would have passed through the pack by now. “Don’t suppose I am.”
“Heard she was a looker and a dancer to boot,” James stated, his lips curling in a sly, cocky smile. “Bet she’s got some serious flexibility. I’m sure you’ll find out just how far she can spread her legs.”
Ben didn’t know how it happened, didn’t realize he’d moved faster than blink. All Ben knew was that he suddenly had James a foot of the ground, pinned to the front of the cabinet, claws out as he fisted the other man’s coat. Raging darkness filled his sight. “Don’t,” he snarled in the kid’s face.
James’s brown eyes were shocked saucers. His voice terror-leaden as he stammered. “I-I didn’t mean anything by it. Just joking. You know?”
Ben felt the burn in his gums, knew his fangs had dropped, ready to rip flesh apart. Some part of his rational brain kicked in to gear, throwing him into a flashback to when Dean had done the same thing to him when Ben had given Kaylie an overly interested look. That pause was enough for him to regain control of his beast, and ponder his unprecedented action.
It had to be Willow.
Ben had practically salivated when he’d drawn her scent into his lungs that first night. The second he’d taken her small hand in his he’d felt like he’d jumped into an inferno. Undiluted desire had pumped through his veins, so pure and hot he’d felt scorched. His beast had clawed at his mind, desperate to get its paws on her. For a few blinding seconds he’d forgotten everything: the others in the room, the circumstances, Pete and the snow bunnies, everything except the undiluted want that twisted his gut into so many convoluted knots.
Which wasn’t like him. Ben was always in control. He had to be, when his wolf was as strong as his. As a leader, the ability to hold back the beast was a necessity as well as a sign of strength and stability. Which he was poorly demonstrating at this moment by harassing a pup barely old enough to drink.
Ben slowly returned James to his feet, yet he didn’t allow the younger shifter his freedom. “Miss Yancy is a lady. One who has endured hell, and you will fucking speak of her with respect.”