Текст книги "Wolf Bait"
Автор книги: Nina West
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“Yes.” He pauses. “It was compelling.”
I frown, trying to recall what could possibly be so compelling. I did almost cry in it.
“You want to aim for the lines in the wood. Like this one here.” He steps away to lean forward and run his hand over the vein in the hunk of wood. “That’s where it’ll split easily. And you want to aim closer to you, rather than on the far side, so you’re not hitting the wood with the handle should you miss. You’ll hurt your arms that way.”
“Okay.” I’m doing my best to listen, as I should considering I’m about to swing an ax for the first time.
He repositions himself behind me. A slight gasp escapes me as he fits his big, muddy boot in between mine and nudges my feet apart. In a lower voice, he directs, “You need to adjust your stance. A bit wider. Yeah, like that.”
The farther apart my feet shift, the deeper the throb between my legs becomes.
“Now you lift the ax straight up above your head, and keep your arms straight.” His arms come around me again, his huge body dwarfing mine, to cover my hands and grip the ax. With his chest pressed against my back and my body seemingly enveloped in his, he helps me to lift the ax straight above my head, the strain from the weight working its way through my muscles. “Let the weight of the ax be your muscle.” We bring the weapon down on the piece of wood, hitting it square on the line he pointed out earlier. It makes a nice divot. “It’ll take you a few good hits to get all the way through.”
As frazzled as I am by his proximity to me, I push that aside. “Let me do it on my own.”
He steps away and to the side several feet, his arms folding across his chest in a way that makes his biceps bulge even more. I ignore how self-conscious I feel under the weight of that gaze and mimic the steps, bringing the ax down on the exact spot, the impact jolting my arms.
“Good job. Try it again.”
I do. A dozen more times, until sweat trickles down my back, and finally I hear the splitting sound.
“A couple more hits should cut through the last bit, there.”
He’s right. Finally, I rest the ax head on the ground and smile triumphantly as two chunks lie on the stump. “Where’s the next one?”
He chuckles, closing the distance to take the ax out of my hand. “Let’s work your stamina up. Your body’s going to hurt tomorrow, and we need you on your game. For your job in housekeeping.”
I step back as he takes his position in front of the stump, setting up one of the pieces on its end. He swings the ax over his head and brings it down, splitting the wood in one stroke.
I can already feel the heaviness in my arms, and I split one piece of wood. He’s been swinging that ax for an hour straight. “You must have high stamina.” The second the words leave my mouth, I realize what else it could imply. I shut my eyes and fight the burn in my cheeks. All I seem to ever do around him is blush with embarrassment.
When I crack a lid, I find him setting a fresh piece of wood on the stump.
“My stamina is exceptional,” is all he says before getting ready to swing the ax again.
I’m sweating now, and I’m not sure that it has anything to do with outdoor work anymore. Peeling off my college sweatshirt, I leave it on the side of the truck beside my vest and smooth down my black, long-sleeved shirt, wishing for the thousandth time that my breasts weren’t so cartoonishly large for my slender body. I’ve had them since I was fifteen. I remember coming back to sophomore year after summer break and being accused of having a boob job by the nastier girls in school. A ridiculous suggestion, but I guess I can understand why. I did go up two cup sizes in two months.
I duck my head and turn my focus to the small woodpile. It takes another half hour to load everything into the back of the truck, and I do it quietly, afraid of what else may come out of my mouth.
I’m finishing up the last few pieces when a rash of noisy bird caws sound nearby.
“Abbi.”
“Yeah?”
“Get in the truck. Now.” Henry’s tone is low and even, but I hear the warning in it and I don’t stop to ask questions. I climb into the passenger side. He’s already walking slowly toward me, ax gripped in hand, his gaze focused in the distance. I scramble over as he climbs in behind me, slamming the door shut. He seizes me by the hips and, with seemingly little effort, shifts me onto his lap and then over, swapping seats to put himself on the driver side.
Unease slides down my back. “What’s wrong?” As the words come out of my mouth, I spot the brown body emerging from the tree line, some hundred feet away.
Chapter Nine
“That’s a grizzly bear.” The telltale hump bobs up and down as the beast saunters toward us. I spent plenty of hours reading up on those as part of my research.
Henry remains perfectly still, his gaze locked on it. “A teenager. They’re more brazen than the older ones. More likely to come out to investigate.” He’s speaking softly, calmly. “I saw tracks around here last week.”
“You knew there was a grizzly bear wandering around here and you brought me?” I can’t help the accusation in my tone.
“Relax. He’s just curious. I won’t let him do anything to you.”
A small part of me relishes the protective words, but it’s overshadowed by the bigger issue at hand. “I read they can break into cars.”
“He’s not the Incredible Hulk, Abbi. He’s not going to smash through the glass and grab you in one swoop.” Henry chuckles softly. “As soon as I crank the engine, he’s going to bolt. Trust me. And even if he doesn’t, we’ll drive away. Sit back and keep calm. You get to see nature up close today. Something none of the other staff is likely to see.”
I try to mimic Henry’s ease, settling back into the seat, even though my heart is hammering inside my chest and my breaths come out ragged and my voice sounds shaky. “So that’s a teenager? As in, it’s not full-grown?” I can already see that its back easily lines up with the truck’s hood, even from this distance.
“He’s going to be a big one. I’m guessing close to a thousand pounds.”
I watch it move, the power in its steps. “How do you know he’s a he?”
“See the way he sways as he walks, with his hind legs farther apart? Males do that in the spring, during mating season.”
“You know a lot about bears.”
The grizzly is maybe twenty feet away. Henry lowers his voice to a whisper. “I spent my summers in Alaska when I was growing up.”
The bear is coming around to my side.
“Oh my God,” I hiss.
“Slide closer to me if you’re afraid,” Henry whispers, but I’m paralyzed, the grizzly no more than ten feet from my door, his gaze on me. You’re not supposed to look it in the eyes and yet I can’t help it. They’re narrow and assessing me.
“Why’s he doing that?” I ask as the bear steps from side to side, like he doesn’t know which direction to go. Suddenly he charges straight for my door. I yelp and scamper backward across the seat toward Henry.
Onto Henry’s lap, into his arms.
The bear veers to the side, taking several steps back.
“He knows we’re here and he’s wary. Stay still,” Henry whispers into my ear, the words skating across my skin.
“No problem.” The fact that I’m in my boss’s lap hasn’t escaped me, but I’m temporarily distracted. Thankfully, he hasn’t pushed me off.
Yet.
“See?” Henry’s hand sits on my trembling thigh, rubbing it soothingly, but I only have eyes for the side mirror, where I can see the bear now approaching the truck, where my vest and sweatshirt hang off the side. “He’s curious.”
“Oh, shit,” I mumble, realizing what he’s after. “I have turkey jerky in my vest pocket.”
“Turkey jerky?”
“Yes. I always get hungry midmorning and I didn’t know what I’d be doing today.”
“But, turkey?” Henry mutters something about beef but I’m not listening, too focused on the bear.
Sure enough, the bear tips his head to sniff the air around it. Then he’s up on his hind legs, his massive front paws landing on the side of the truck, rocking us and earning my nervous yelp. His nails drag along the side in a scraping sound that can’t be good for the paint. He starts rubbing his nose along my vest, leaving a trail of wet against the soft pink.
“Do you think he’ll take it?”
The bear drops to all fours, and my vest vanishes with him. Seconds later, I hear the sound of material tearing, and then he’s swaggering away, putting about twenty feet of distance between us and him, with his prize and pieces of pink fabric dangling from his mouth.
My initial terror has abated somewhat as we watch him hunker down on his rump and work away at the wrapping. “That must be hard for him, with those giant paws.”
“He’ll manage just fine,” Henry whispers, chuckling softly.
Heat on my thigh reminds me that his strong hands are resting there. Quite provocatively, too; halfway up, his fingers splayed. I glance down at them, deciding if this is okay.
“We should get back,” he murmurs. “We won’t be getting any more wood split today.”
“Right.” I’m disappointed and I don’t do a good job of hiding it from my voice. The morning with Henry was fun and therapeutic, and exactly what I needed to ease my conscience about how I acted with him that first night. Maybe that’s why he invited me to tag along.
I need to climb off his lap before I do something to add to my track record of inappropriateness around this man.
I make to move but his hands tighten their grip, pulling me back a touch, until I can feel something hard press against my ass.
My heart begins racing, pumping adrenaline into my veins.
I may be inexperienced, but I’m not stupid.
Is this happening?
Henry has an erection. Is it simply because I’m sitting on him? Or is it for me? Maybe his cool exhales against my neck aren’t intentional, either. I feel the urge to grind myself against him. Would he be okay with that? No, I don’t think so. He made a point of saying that he trusted me not to try anything when I’m sober.
But now he’s pinning me down in his lap and his erection is digging in to me, and his shallow pants fill the truck to compete with my own.
“Did you tell anyone about the other night?” Henry’s deep voice has turned soft and seductive.
I’m shaking my head before I can manage any words. “No. I mean, Tillie figured out that something happened with someone, but I didn’t tell her that it was you.”
“Why not?”
My eyes dart to the rearview mirror and I find myself pinned down by his gaze, the look dark and daring. “I don’t know. I was embarrassed, I guess?”
“What exactly were you embarrassed about?” His voice is so melodic, as if coaxing me to respond.
A strangled sound escapes me. “I don’t know. That I was drunk. That I said all kinds of stupid, crazy things about my ex-fiancé and... other things.”
“Other things, like when you asked me to fuck you?”
I struggle to form a coherent answer. He must know this makes me uncomfortable, that I’m mortified. So why is he tormenting me? Does he like making me squirm? Or is he punishing me for my behavior? Or did he bring me out here because I asked him to have sex with me and now he wants to deliver?
What would a man like Henry Wolf do to a girl like me?
He did promise me that I wouldn’t be inexperienced for long with him.
He also said that I should spend the next four months fucking someone in every position imaginable. Is he offering to be that guy?
Would it be four months? Or one night? If it’s true that this guy goes through women like underwear, why would I want to give away my virginity to him, to be used and tossed aside?
I wouldn’t. Of all things, that I’m sure of.
And this is the owner, I remind myself. He could have me on the next flight back to Chicago if I do or say the wrong thing here. Or worse, Pennsylvania.
I finally free myself from his gaze to stare ahead.
“You look perplexed. Why?”
“Because this feels like a test.”
A ghost of a smile passes his lips. “Maybe it is.”
For five pounding heartbeats, with his grip on my thighs tightening, and his body leaning in until his mouth is a hairsbreadth away from my neck, I make myself believe that I’m not delusional, that his hard dick is for me, that Henry Wolf has invited me here for more than to simply help him stack wood, and that I could actually deliver on that.
My breaths turn ragged, waiting.
“Watch this,” he whispers, reaching for the ignition. The bear has finished my snack and is now on all fours, eyeing us. With one flick of Henry’s wrist, the sudden, loud rumble of the engine sends the bear bolting for the tree line at speeds I can’t fathom for a body that big.
“And that’s why you should never try to outrun a bear.”
He leans back and releases a heavy sigh. His hands slip from my legs, one reaching for the heat dial, leaving my thighs cold and me instantly missing his touch. Warmth blasts out from the dashboard.
I slide off him and shift to my spot in the truck. The air is still tense and I can’t stand tension, so I clear my throat and say the first thing that comes to mind. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to plant trees. Leave the land barren.”
The truck fills with his deep laughter and I instantly relax. His laugh is beautiful and it reminds me that, above all else that he may be, Henry Wolf is still human.
“Should I leave my vest here?” I stare out at the tattered remains lying in the mud.
I feel his gaze on my chest before I even turn back. It sits there for five racing heartbeats, intense and probing, until my nipples begin to tighten. I’m sure he can see them poking out of my thin cotton sports bra. “For now. I’ll get you a new one,” Henry promises, as the truck lurches into motion.
The drive back goes much faster than on the way out, and I find myself wishing we were still stacking wood. “How long will you be staying in Alaska?” Is this it? Will I see him again before he leaves? Wolf Cove suddenly feels lonelier with the idea of him not being here.
His fingers strum the steering wheel. “I’m staying for the season.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Why?” He glances over at me, curiosity in his eyes.
“Don’t you have other hotels to open, or something?”
“I have a lot on the go, but I’ve decided to focus on Wolf Cove for now and work remotely on everything else. It’s important to me that it succeeds.”
Inexplicable happiness fills my chest. Does that mean almost four months with Henry? Will we be doing any more of these private little trips? Or is that just wishful thinking?
“Why are you smiling?”
“No reason.” My cheeks flush.
He pauses. “Does me staying for the summer make you happy?”
I bite my bottom lip, deciding whether to be honest. I finally settle on, “Maybe.”
He says nothing, turning into the driveway.
“You’re back to being Mr. Wolf when we pass those gates, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” No hesitation.
“Well, then it was nice to spend this time with you.” My eyes drop to my lap.
“I trust you know where you’re going this afternoon.”
“To set the rooms on the fourth floor, and then collect my uniform.” The instructions appeared in my inbox last night during dinner.
A secretive smirk touches his lips. “Don’t worry, I doubt you’ll find it as awful as you expect.”
“We’ll see what your guests have to say. I don’t think I’ve ever actually made a bed properly.”
“Huh.” He mutters something that sounds like, “I’ll keep that in mind,” under his breath. The wheels squeak as the truck rolls to a stop where Henry picked me up this morning. The hotel is alive with workers now, carrying supplies from the docks, raking the beach, and I’m sure a thousand other things I’m not even aware of. Grizzly bear or not, the morning was much more peaceful than what I anticipate the next few days will be. “Do you need me to help you unload the wood?”
“No. I have the Outdoor crew for that.”
I shoot him a glare, earning his smirk.
It quickly falls off his beautiful face, though. “I’m glad I can trust you to keep things to yourself. I’d like to ask that you continue to do so. If anyone does ask, tell them you helped me load wood. If anyone asks.”
I frown. “That’s all I did. Do you mean about the bear? Or...” My eyes inadvertently drift to his lap before I snap them back and swallow hard.
A wicked smirk touches his lips. “You can respect that, right?”
“Yes.”
“I thought so.”
“Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Maybe.”
I reach for the handle, but then stop, the one unanswered question still ringing in my ears. “You said that you hired me? Why?”
He stares out the windshield for the longest time. When he finally turns, it’s to settle a dark, heated gaze on me. “Because it looked like you really needed this.”
“I did. I do.” I clear my voice to get the shake out of it. Lord, he can be intimidating at the snap of a finger.
“Well then, I wanted to give it to you.”
The mood in the truck has turned dark and palpable, and I feel the sudden urge to escape. I slip out and head toward the main lodge, replaying his words. It would be easy to believe he meant that I really needed this job, or I really needed to get away to the peaceful wilderness of Alaska.
Something tells me he’s talking about something else, though.
I glance over my shoulder to find him watching me quietly from his truck. That stare, it’s almost... wolfish.
Chapter Ten
“Fifth floor needs ten more corkscrews and shoe polish kits!” Shelley, one of the room service supervisors, hollers. “Can you ladies bring those up? Last request, then you can go get your uniforms and call it a day. Promise.”
“Sure thing,” Tillie answers for us, strolling past me to grab the corkscrews from the supply bin against the wall to our left. All the major staples—bottle openers, extra pens, batteries, adapters for foreigners, the special custom-made Wolf Hotel branded chocolates—are sorted there for easy access. “Maybe you should carry these, with those broken arms and all.” She winks and dumps the corkscrews into my appreciative hands.
I guess being in Chicago all year has softened my muscles, because only hours later—albeit long, arduous hours of shuttling extra pillows, towels, and hair dryers all over the hotel and, yes, wrestling with bed sheets—my arms are aching something fierce.
I’m exhausted. All I want to do is curl up in my little bed, and as soon as I’m able, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.
“That’s what you get for disappearing into the woods with Mr. Wolf,” Tillie hisses as we head toward the staff elevator.
I spear her with a warning glare. Tillie’s the only one who knows who I left with, and that’s because she badgered me until I let it slip. In trying to respect Henry’s wishes, I asked her to keep it to herself.
“Oh, relax. I’m not gonna say nothin’.” She hits the Up button with her elbow and then stands back. “I can’t believe you spent all morning watching that man cut wood and did not take one picture. Did he sweat? Oh, I bet he was sweating.”
“I didn’t notice,” I lie. “I know that I was sweating. It was hard work.”
“Why’d he ask you, anyway? I mean...” Her eyes roam my tiny frame.
“I think it was a reality check for outdoor work in Alaska. So I’d shut up and be happy in Housekeeping.”
“Lugging wood would do it, I guess.” A woman passes us in the corridor, her maid uniform slung over her shoulder. “Not bad, hey?” Tillie says, nodding toward it.
As far as frumpy housekeeping uniforms go, I’d say we lucked out. The French-inspired dresses are classy yet functional, all black with cap sleeves and cowl necklines, trimmed with white lace. Someone was modeling it earlier. It’s flattering. Nothing too revealing, and comfortable enough—though I haven’t scrubbed any toilets, yet.
The elevator doors open just as someone calls out, “Abbi, wait!” We turn to see Belinda speeding toward us, her heels clicking furiously.
“Go ahead. I’ll be up in a sec,” I tell Tillie, watching her disappear behind the doors.
“Did you get my message?” Belinda pants, like she’s out of breath.
I frown. “No. But I don’t have my phone on me.” I’ve enjoyed not carrying it, being disconnected from the world. Mainly from Greenbank.
She waves it away. “Not a problem. We have a solution to the role mix-up.”
Dare I hope? “You’re moving me to Outdoor?”
“No.” Her lips purse together. “But I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” Is there a hint of bitterness in her voice? “Beginning tomorrow morning, you’ll be covering Penthouse One.”
“Penthouse One.” I frown. “I don’t understand. What does that even mean?” And how is that better?
“Here.” She thrusts an iPad at me. “All the information you need is in there. Guest programs, amenities, procedures. It’ll take you a few days to digest it all, but you’ll have time to do that.”
“But—”
“You’ll need a liaison’s uniform. They should have something that fits you.”
I stare at the iPad. “Okay?” I’m starting tomorrow and yet the hotel manager has admitted that it’ll take me a few days to know what to do. “Are you sure I’m the best person for this job?”
Again, that lip pucker. “It doesn’t matter what I think. Mr. Wolf insisted on it.”
My eyebrows must jump halfway up my forehead. “He did what?” Clearly he’s not as smart of a businessman as I thought he was if he’s going to put me with his most valuable guests.
Belinda hands me a key card. “Each penthouse has its own uniquely coded liaison card. You know where the penthouses are, right?”
I nod absently.
“To the right of the guest door is another door. That is the one you use. You’ll be expected to arrive on site tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., sharp.”
There are so many questions flying through my head that I don’t know where to begin.
She taps the iPad in my hand with her nail. “Watch the video, read through the training sections, and if you have any more questions, Paige will help you.”
I watch her stalk away as if in a rush, checking her watch as she rounds the corner.
A rash of nerves floods my stomach. What on earth was Henry thinking, putting me in this job? I thought he cared about his hotel?
I wish I knew how to find him so I could talk him out of this. But I don’t have time to hunt him down. I need to drop off these kits, get my new uniform, and get back to the cabin to familiarize myself.
I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~
“The Cabins?” Autumn looks as shocked as Tillie did when I told her. “You need years of experience kissing rich people’s asses to be put there. Only superstar seasoned Wolf employees get that kind of gig.”
“Yeah. I don’t get it either.” I sigh, studying my new “uniform”—a breezy white blouse and plum-colored pencil skirt with a provocative slit up the back—that hangs in its dry-cleaning packaging on my hook.
I’m neither seasoned nor a superstar and yet the owner of Wolf Cove Hotel wants me catering to the needs of the most elite guests. Why? “So, what am I going to be doing there?” If anyone would know, Autumn would.
“Oh, man.” She unfastens a pearl earring and tosses it into a jewelry box. “Well, you’re basically there to cater to every need that your guests may have. You’re available to them at all times. All Wolf hotels have servants’ quarters on the same floor as the penthouses. Here, I heard that they’ve built little quarters inside each cabin, where you stay until you’re needed. Bring a book,” she warns, with a knowing stare. “And, depending on how demanding the guest is, you may be expected to stay overnight and cater to them at 3:00 a.m. if they buzz. When they want room service, you order it for them. When they want to eat at the restaurant, you make their dinner reservations. You make their excursion arrangements and spa sessions; you recommend activities, you ensure their liquor cabinet is full at all times, their coffee and tea is poured, their dishes are always cleared, their rooms are cleaned.”
“You wipe their asses if they ask you nicely enough,” Tillie murmurs.
I feel my face blanching. I hope she’s kidding.
“And the best part?” Autumn goes on. “You don’t even have to do the actual cleaning. You dial up Housekeeping when it’s convenient for the guest and someone else comes and does the work. Consider yourself a butler, only female.”
Well, that’s one blessing. But... “I’m supposed to book excursions?” My head is beginning to spin with all the things I need to know that I won’t, not before the morning. Why do I need to be there so early, anyway? No one’s going to be there at 7:00 a.m.
“Yes.” Autumn grins, climbing to the top bed. “Through your friendly concierge. And if you’re lucky, they’ll take you on one. You know, because they need a servant while they watch Kodiak bears and view glaciers.”
Mention of bears distracts me from my current agitation, bringing me back to this morning. And Henry. He has invaded my thoughts all afternoon and into the evening as it is.
“Penthouse guests get what they want, when they want it. Honestly, it’s the country club of the service world. At least, it is for a Wolf employee.”
“He’s insane.” I groan as I ease my sore body into the bottom bunk, having already showered and readied for bed.
“Who’s insane?”
“Mr. Wolf. Apparently, he’s the one who put me in this job.” I’ve been wracking my brain for the last half hour, trying to figure out why he would. There is nothing that happened today that should give him the false belief that I can do this job. A dark thought crosses my mind. Maybe he wants me to mess up so he has an excuse to fire me. I quickly dismiss that, though. It makes no more sense than anything else.
“She knocked Wolf on the head with a piece of wood when they were out earlier today, is what I think,” Tillie says, grabbing her robe and her shower caddy.
Autumn’s face suddenly appears beside me, her hair dangling in wet, freshly washed tendrils. “Wait, you were with Mr.Wolf?”
I sigh. So much for Tillie keeping her mouth shut. Thank God I didn’t tell her anything more than I was supposed to. “I helped him load firewood.”
She frowns. “Why? He has the Outdoor crew.”
“Don’t know, but who am I to say no to the boss.” I doubt I’d be capable of saying no to him, regardless of request. “And because I can’t say no, I’ll be down here, studying up on my role as liaison to a bunch of rich people all night.”
“You best suck it on up then because any of us, including me, would murder to be in your place. You’re gonna double your salary this summer, girl. I, for one, am green with envy,” Tillie mutters, heading toward the door.
Autumn, at least, offers me a sympathetic smile and yanks on the privacy curtain to close us in.
I slide on my headset and get ready for a long night.
