Naked for Her Two Masters(4)

He also noticed she dried her feet carefully—far more carefully than she’d dried any other part of her body—before putting on clean socks. That was the way genuine hikers behaved. Feet were the most important part of a hiker’s equipment and it made good sense to treat them properly. He watched her push the dirty clothes that had been left on the ground beside her boots into the backpack, and then shrug it over her shoulders. Like her clothing, the backpack was far from new. Likely she’d bought it secondhand or from a thrift store. She had a bedding roll pushed through the straps of the backpack.

She kept her back to him and walked up the hill at the side of the hot spring, heading west.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Back to the river. Or is that still on your land? May I stay at the river tonight please?”

“Why?” He couldn’t understand why she hadn’t asked to go to his home. What devious plan was in her brain?

“I don’t have any food left and if I set my net now I might catch a fish for breakfast.”

“Why don’t you want to come to my house?”

“You told me to get off your land.”

“No I didn’t. I asked you what you were doing in my pool. A question you haven’t answered.”

While they’d been talking he’d walked around the rim of the hot spring so he was still above her but much closer to her now. Her brown eyes were a little bit sunken in her face and she looked tired. The jeans she’d put in her backpack had been very dirty, as if she’d been wearing them for a while. He wondered if she really had climbed the mountain, or at least come quite a distance, and if she had run out of food or if that was just a ploy to get his sympathy. Some women were incredibly manipulative, especially when they hoped to catch a rich husband.

She turned to face him fully. “The short answer is soaking and resting. The long answer is I came to the mountains for peace and a break. I saw the steam rising from your pool and I thought it was going to be a volcano so I wanted to look at it.”

“There are no volcanoes in these mountains.”

“I didn’t know that. I didn’t know there were hot springs here either, though. Listen, is it all right if I stay by the river? I need to leave now to get there before dark and set my net.”

“Follow me to my house instead. I’ll feed you.” He was probably being naïve letting her come, but if she genuinely had no food he couldn’t leave her out on the mountain. Besides, even if she had just landed from a helicopter after eating a five course meal, she’d made an effort to get to him so the least he could do was spend enough time with her to decide she was just another rich bitch he had no interest in knowing better.

He didn’t wait for her to answer, but started walking back toward the pack building. He hiked at his usual pace, allowing her no leeway for not knowing the track or for being female, and, presumably human, without his extra shape-shifter abilities of balance and keener vision and hearing. He heard her boots on the rocks from time to time, but there was no heavy breathing and she didn’t speak to ask him to slow down or say anything at all. At the top of the first hill he turned to watch her. She was only a few paces behind him, apparently quite capable of keeping up with him, despite her pack. He supposed if he’d been a gentleman he would have carried it for her. But she’d come here of her own volition. He hadn’t invited her and he wasn’t even sure he hadn’t been quite idiotic to invite her to the pack’s home.

He turned and kept walking, still not moderating his pace at all. Only when he crested the rise that brought the building into view did he turn and watch her face. Now would be the time when she displayed glee at the sight of the large house. Of course, she wouldn’t know how many people lived here. But then the house was much bigger than it looked from here anyway. It had been carefully designed not to be overly impressive. Two levels were below ground, the dungeons and hot springs at the lowest level, then mud rooms, the laundry, machine rooms and other equipment store rooms on the level above them. The three levels visible were apartments, communal living areas and offices.

Much to his surprise, she stared at the building but kept walking. Either she was a damn good actress or else she hadn’t understood this was where he lived. Shrugging, he led her up to the path. His apartment was on the top floor, at the front corner of the building, meaning he had twice as many windows as most people. One of the perks of being Alpha. However his apartment was not lavishly furnished. He had a living room, a functional kitchen, a bedroom, and bathroom, just the same as everyone else, apart from the giant windows in two rooms—his bedroom as well as his living room.