Maya chatted with the concierge in the lobby of the Washington Inn. His nametag said he was Larry, and he stood behind a tall stand with a computer on top—probably the way he researched things that guests wanted to know for which he didn’t have answers. He had little hair to frame his unwavering and respectful smile.
Maya kept sneaking looks toward the stairway. Were Ryan, Piers and Rocky up in their rooms? She’d only arrived downstairs a few minutes ago, just before the time they’d said they would meet, and she didn’t even know if they’d returned after their outing this afternoon. She hadn’t changed her clothes, but her shirt, jeans and athletic shoes felt appropriate for the casualness of their arrangement.
“I’m not exactly sure what the people I’m going to dinner with will want,” she told Larry. “Do you have any kind of restaurant list?”
“Nothing official, but I’ve got a pretty good sense for what’s close by, if you can give me some idea—”
“Oh, I should know shortly.” Maya had just spotted Piers and Rocky heading down the stairway. They were followed by Ryan. The men had changed from their climbing outfits but remained dressed as casually as Maya, both in sweatshirts and jeans.
They soon had maneuvered through the fairly empty lobby and joined Maya near the concierge stand.
“What kind of food would you guys like for dinner? And I’m not asking Rocky, since I think I know what he’d say.” Maya grinned. Of course a wolf-dog would want some pretty heavy meat.
“How about some kind of steak house?” Ryan asked.
Maya supposed that the dog’s owner could share some preferences with his pet but still found that kind of amusing.
“Fine with me.” As much as she liked wildlife, she had considered becoming a vegetarian early on but decided against it—although she did limit her meat intake, often preferring more salads to heavy foods like steak.
Larry gave them the name of a nearby dog-friendly place called, appropriately, House of Steak, and handed them a town map, where he circled the location. In a few minutes, they were on their way. There weren’t many others walking on the sidewalk, but the weather was fine, a fairly warm evening in September.
Once again, Maya enjoyed being with this group, and not just because Rocky resembled one of the kinds of animals she especially appreciated.
She found she also appreciated being with others who liked wildlife as much as she, but whom she hadn’t met through WHaM. And the fact they brought that adorable, wolflike dog along nearly everywhere only added to her appreciation of them.
They were seated on a sparsely occupied patio as soon as they reached the restaurant. Rocky was the only dog present, but there were several other groups of people. Unsurprisingly, both men ordered steaks, which actually sounded good to Maya but she decided that a steak salad instead would be perfect for her. The men both ordered beer but she decided to stick with iced tea. They did, of course, request a bowl of water for Rocky.
When the server, a friendly and knowledgeable fellow, had left, Maya turned to Piers. “Why did you decide to join the US Fish and Wildlife Service? Obviously you care about wildlife, but why make it that official?”
She wanted to know the same from Ryan but thought it would be easier to ask Piers first to lead into the topic.
She caught the men trading glances that looked somehow strange, but only for a second. “My background is in science,” Piers said. “I’ve always liked animals. I started out in the military, then decided to follow up this way.”
“Same thing, basically, with me,” Ryan said without her even having to ask him. She opened her mouth to ask for more detail but he continued, “And you? Why did you decide to join WHaM?”
This was something she loved to talk about. “The thing is, I’m a statistician by background, as well as a real animal lover. Even before, I loved observing and documenting and forecasting future numbers in different fields. But along the way I met other people as obsessed and adoring of wildlife as I am—so we got together and formed WHaM.”
“Then you’re one of the founders?” Ryan’s tilted head and smile suggested he was impressed, which made Maya feel even better.
“Yep,” she said. “A group of us decided that an organization was needed to document and try to maximize restoration of native wildlife throughout the country. We discuss ideas with each other and, when appropriate, make suggestions to local governments. Of course we recognize the need to make sure that the influx of wildlife occurs as safely as possible for both animals and locals, so my talk tomorrow is entirely appropriate for me—and so was the one I gave yesterday.”
“So what brought you here, to Washington?” Ryan asked. “Although I’ll bet I can guess.”
“I’ll bet you can, too,” she replied. “We’re all so delighted about the return of wolves to this state and wanted to be part of it, though there aren’t many yet and even fewer in this area. And some, in other areas, are unfortunately being disposed of for doing what comes naturally to them: hunting prey. But here I am, representing all of WHaM—and maybe all wolves, too!” She shot them both a smile—but noticed they glanced at each other again first. What was going on? She had to ask. “Do you two have some kind of opinion on WHaM or the wolves or whatever that you’d like to share with me? Or some kind of official opinion from Fish and Wildlife?”
“Not really, though of course the more we know about your organization, and the more your organization knows about Fish and Wildlife regulations and standards, the better for all of us—and the wolves here, too.” Ryan spoke as if he was a government guy, which he was, and Maya saw Piers’s head nodding, as well.
Their food arrived then. Maya wasn’t surprised when both men cut pieces of meat from their steak and fed them to the now-sitting and clearly happy, tail-wagging Rocky.
For the rest of the meal, they talked in generalities, sometimes about this town and any sights to see, sometimes about transportation here from Sea-Tac, but never again anything personal about their backgrounds, even though Maya attempted now and then to turn the conversation gently back to that subject.
No matter. She enjoyed her salad—and she enjoyed the company.
She even kind of enjoyed it when Ryan took over the discussion and began telling her what she ought to cover in her talk the next day.
Most of what he said made sense.
But it was her talk. If she chose not to do it his way, too bad.
* * *
There was something about this woman that really resonated with Ryan.
Maybe it was her enthusiasm about wildlife—particularly wolves.
Maybe it was her intelligence. Her determination. Her jumping right into a situation that fascinated her and finding a way to share it with the world. The organization she had helped to create was now known by nearly everyone involved with wildlife preservation.
And maybe his appreciation of her was spiced up even more by his attraction to her—physically and otherwise.
For now, though, as they finished their meal, he had already donned his nonexistent cloak of being in command, thanks to his false job with the federal government.
He allowed that once more to be the reason he treated her to this meal—and Piers, too, of course.
“Thanks,” Maya said as they stood to leave. “And thanks also for your suggestions about what I should say tomorrow.”
The smile on her face, as cute and appealing as it was, seemed false, as if she wasn’t overly excited about his ideas on how to give her presentation.
But he didn’t mind. He liked the idea of her being her own woman—on behalf of wolves. And he would be there. If she got into anything she shouldn’t, whether a topic or approach or anything else, he’d be able to channel her back in the right directions. Even correct her.
And he felt certain that she wouldn’t appreciate it.
Their walk back to the hotel was at a nice, leisurely pace, partly because Maya asked to be the one to hold Rocky’s leash again. Ryan’s cover dog acted as he should, taking his time sniffing out everything and taking care of what he needed to this night before they went to bed.
The air was comfortably cool, and the streets in this small retail area were fairly quiet. In all, it was a very pleasant time.
“Have either of you ever been to Washington State before?” Maya asked as they neared their destination.
“I have, briefly, when I was a kid,” Piers said. “My family took a sightseeing trip to the Seattle area. It was fun, but I never really thought about coming back again. Glad I’m here, though.”
“This is my first time here,” Ryan responded, “but I like it, or at least what I’ve seen of it so far. I may stick around even longer than I’d first planned.”
Like, until the next full moon, thanks to his belief now that there actually were shifters in Fritts Corner.
Or maybe he would leave and come back.
But at the moment, staying as long as Maya did felt best, at least until that next full moon.
When they reached the hotel, Ryan opened the door to the otherwise empty lobby. “Is Rocky staying with you tonight?” he asked Piers—another way of telling his aide that Rocky was staying with him that night.
“Sure thing. Good night, you two.” Piers took the end of the leash from Maya and tugged gently till Rocky followed him up the stairs—but not before Piers aimed a knowing smile toward Ryan.
A very suggestive smile, but Ryan had no intention of doing anything but acting gentlemanly and seeing Maya to her room.
To the door of her room, and that was all.
They walked up the steps together, side by side. Ryan had an urge to reach over and take her hand—to steady her on the steps—but he knew it would be a bad idea to touch her at all.
He managed to share glances with her now and then on their climb. Was there something in her gaze besides friendliness and appreciation of someone else who liked wolves?
He thought so. And the heat, the interest, he thought he saw there turned him on...no matter how inappropriate that was.
He tried to make his thoughts back off—tried being the operative word.
“It’s only been a few days since I arrived here,” Maya said, her upward pace slow but deliberate, “but it feels as if I’ve been here much longer.” The smile she shot at him was sexy as well as sweet.
“Is that a good or bad thing?” Ryan asked. They had reached the hallway to the third floor, where Maya’s room was. He again resisted the urge to take her hand. No reason at all to try to steady her.
“Good, I think. And I hadn’t planned to stay long, but I may extend it depending on how things go at my new talk tomorrow. If people seem to take the position I do, that wildlife is wonderful but shouldn’t be approached for one’s own safety, that’s great. But I’d still like to know what really happened with Morton Fritts.”
“Me, too,” Ryan said, really meaning it. Well, he would find out somehow, maybe tomorrow and maybe not, but one way or another he needed to know.
At her doorway, Maya reached into the small purse she carried and extracted her room key—an actual key in this older place. She unlocked her door.
Ryan was about to tell her good-night and suggest they meet for breakfast again tomorrow—when she grabbed his hand and yanked him inside.
In moments, her arms were around him and he couldn’t help but reciprocate. Their kiss was hot and long and damn sexy, with her pushing hard against him and teasing him with her tongue.
For a moment, he found himself eager to accompany her across the room to her bed.
But then reality set in. He certainly hadn’t brought any protection along, and he wasn’t about to make love with this amazingly sexy woman without making sure no offspring resulted.
Although the idea of surprising this wildlife lover with the kind of offspring they’d conceive...
No way!
Reluctantly but with determination he ended the kiss, even as his mouth, and the rest of his body, ached for more.
“Wow,” he said, smiling down at her, appreciating the surprise on her sensual, clearly stimulated face. “Wow,” he repeated. “Now that’s a great way to say good-night. So, good night, Maya. Let’s grab breakfast together in the morning again, okay? Same time as today?”
Before she could respond, he hurried out the door.
And wondered if he would be able to sleep that night—or if his body would be aching for what had been more than hinted about here, but he’d unfortunately had to end.