She beamed at him. “Hello, Tad.” She tilted her head toward the articles. “You told me business was going well but you didn’t say how well. Glowing reports from what I see here.”
She held out her hand, and when he clasped it, she tucked herself under his arm and hugged him tightly, his body cradling hers carefully. She took a cautious sniff as she held him. His scent was familiar yet somehow his wolf was muted, which was curious. She didn’t smell any females on him and that was a good thing.
A very good thing, considering what she had in mind.
“It really is wonderful to see you again.” She clung to him for another second, relaxing in his strong arms. It felt so right to be held by another wolf, especially one not threatening to kill her. She hadn’t dared raise the issue during their email correspondence, but she needed to know. Was he aware of his wolf heritage? Opening her mind, she reached out tentatively to brush his emotions. Images jumped back—her face during a high school event, sliding down a snow-covered hill together, the view of her butt as she bent over moments earlier by the door—and she smiled. Nothing but memories filled his mind. Tad gave a final squeeze before extending her to an arm’s distance.
“Damn, you look incredible. I mean, I got the picture you sent but you’re so…” Tad stared, his gaze trailing over her face in amazement.
Missy sighed. The petite thing didn’t help. “I know. I look like a teenager. I’m twenty-six and I still get IDed every time I order a drink.”
Tad led her to the customer waiting area and gestured toward the couch. He hesitated for a second before slipping into the chair across from her. Missy dropped her head to keep her smile hidden. She couldn’t help noticing his arousal. Both his body and his scent gave him away.
“It’s great to see you, but I wasn’t expecting you until next week.” He slid a hand through his hair leaving the dark spikes a mess. Missy wanted to drag her own fingers through the strands and wondered what he would do if she reached out and gave in to temptation. He glanced at his watch and fidgeted. “I don’t want to be rude. I mean, I’ve been looking forward to your visit, but I’ve got a customer this afternoon and I’m not finished prepping. Do you mind if I slip out back for a bit? It should only take ten minutes.”
Missy frowned. Hadn’t he figured it out? She was sure she’d told him the reason she’d come north. Or while trying to be secretive about other things, had she forgotten? “Tad, I have an appointment.”
He let out a big sigh, sounding relieved as he pulled her to her feet and gently tugged her back toward the door. “That’s great! Why don’t you go get your stuff done first and then come back and meet me in half an hour? We can visit until my customers get here.”
“But—” She was out the door, back into the bright and cool February day.
“Looking forward to it. Sorry, I’ve got to hustle. See you later.”
Tad closed the door behind her and Missy stared in shock. She burst out laughing as she made her way back to her truck. That had gone splendidly. Not! She giggled, delighted at the lightness of her mood. There had been little to laugh about over the past months and this mixed-up situation was her fault. She’d dressed to impress. It obviously worked based on his physical reaction, but he was a little too distracted.
She reached into the cab of the truck and grabbed her work clothes. It looked like her excuse for coming to the Yukon would be needed after all.
Chapter 3
Tad raced back into the shop area, scrambling to finish rigging the webbing for the afternoon flight. It was hard to fit the snaps together with visions of Missy flitting through his brain.
Missy. He’d been totally in love with her from the first minute he’d seen her, all blonde, blue-eyed and mischievous. He’d wanted to scoop her up and eat her in one bite, but in high school he’d been even shier with girls than he was now.
What he’d told Shaun was true. He didn’t feel right fooling around with Missy since there wasn’t going to be a future for them. But, holy crap, did she turn his crank. Something about her made him burn inside, and she wasn’t even trying.
He had almost finished his tasks when the door chime ran again.
“I’ll be with you in a minute,” he shouted toward the front office. “Grab a coffee if you’d like.” He hurried to tighten the last few straps.
“I don’t drink coffee.”
Tad swung around. The pale pink down-filled coat, the skintight leggings and the beautiful long blonde hair that hung in fat ringlets were all gone. In their place Missy wore a shapeless woolen toque complete with large earflaps and a generic one-piece blue jumpsuit with a stylized badge on her chest stating “LRG” in bold yellow letters.
“Missy?”
She held up a hand to silence him, then rotated. On the back of her suit the bright yellow words “Lauren Research Group” jumped out at Tad.
Oh shit.
She finished her spin and stared at him, face blank and unreadable.
Tad swallowed hard. He’d really put his foot in it this time.
She crossed her arms and leaned back as she glared up at him. “Hi, I’m Ms. Leason. I’m the representative from LRG you agreed to fly to the set-up site this afternoon, and I’d like your permission to prepack the boxes.”
“I’m sorry. I was so distracted by seeing you earlier it never occurred to me you could be from LRG. Not that there’s any reason why you couldn’t be from LRG.” He wasn’t sure where to look because even in that damn coverall she made his body twitch. And wasn’t that just what he needed, to have his mouth full of feet and his balls in a knot.
She held up her hand again, tilting her head to the side as she raised one eyebrow. “This means you volunteer to help me pack and you’re buying me dinner. Right?” She smirked at him as she pulled off the toque and the riot of hair fell around her. “Holy cow, you should see your face. I thought you might pass out there for a minute.”
Tad swept his hand through his hair and pulled his jaw off the floor. “You, oh man. Yeah, you’re right. I almost lost it. Missy, I’m sorry I cut you off.”
Missy waved a hand in the air. “It’s okay. It wasn’t fair of me to let you assume I’d simply dropped by to see you. I thought I’d mentioned working for LRG in our emails but I guess not. No harm done, but I’m serious about needing help with the gear.”
Tad shook his finger at her, taking in her bright expression. “You always were a bad one for teasing.” He turned away to swing open the doors of the four-seater plane and rolled the portable steps into place. “What are you transporting that’s so delicate?”
“They’re not delicate but my job will be easier if they get packed in order. The relays for the weather sensors need to be set in sequence. I’d prefer not to have to spend hours sorting while we’re on the mountainside. Everything is in the transport trailer outside.”
Tad pulled open the overhead hangar doors and let out a long whistle. Missy drove a brand-new long-box Toyota extra-crew cab with matching canopy. “Sweet wheels.”
He peeked in the window of the passenger door to admire the interior. Behind him Missy released a big sigh. “Boys and their toys. Yes, it’s a nice truck. It starts when I turn the key, and both the radio and CD player work so I’m happy. Oh, and it’s bright red. Makes it easy to spot in the parking lot.”
They grinned at each other. Damn, he loved a girl with a sense of humour. Tad raised his eyebrows, flashing her the best puppy-dog eyes he could. “You want me to move it?” Backing the attached twenty-five-foot trailer into the open space in the hangar would be a hellish task.
“No, I’ll drive. Should I park next to the plane?”
Tad opened his mouth to protest but managed to stop himself in time. He prided himself on being a quick learner. He wouldn’t assume anything about the golden goddess in front of him from this point on because apparently Missy was a woman of many talents.