Arctic Winds by Sondrae Bennett

to computers. He couldn’t believe Samantha had gotten pulled into Laurie’s scheme. Had the smell of tequila not infused their very beings, he might not have believed it at all. But “tequila” and “common sense” weren’t often used in the same sentence.
    He pulled into Laurie’s driveway and got out of the car. As he grabbed her clothes and went to unlock her door, Laurie looked over at the backseat and barked questioningly.
    “There’s no way I’m leaving her with you after that stunt. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.” She threw him another goofy wolf grin. He opened her front door and waited for her to enter before tossing her clothes in after her, hitting her square on the head.

    * * * *
Samantha stretched as she woke. She stopped suddenly when she realized three things: one, she was naked; two, she was in a bed; and three, she wasn’t at Laurie’s or anywhere else she recognized.
    Suddenly wide awake, Samantha clutched the blanket around herself as she got out of the bed. She looked around nervously, but couldn’t find her clothes anywhere. Quickly evaluating her choices, she started nimbly sneaking out of the room, keeping low to the ground hoping to avoid detection. She found herself in a living room. A door across from her looked like it led outside.
    She made it to the door and put her hand on the knob when a voice startled her from behind.
    “Don’t even think of exiting this house before you get dressed.” Samantha straightened and turned to face Jason, oddly comforted once she heard the rich tones of his voice. As soon as he spoke, her muscles instantly relaxed and the need to flee vanished.
    She knew she was safe in his presence. He was standing at the top of the staircase fully dressed and looking good enough to eat.
    “Are you going to say anything or just stand there and stare?”
    “Where am I? And why am I, uh, naked?”
    He stared at her for a moment, then asked, “How much of last night do you remember?” Samantha thought back to the previous night. Everything was a blur. “I went to Laurie’s house. We made margaritas.”
    “Do you remember the park?”
    “The town park?” she asked. At his nod, she racked her brain but couldn’t remember anything happening at the park. “No, I don’t. Did we go there?”
    “You went swimming.”
    “There’s a pool at the park?”
    “No. In the fountain. I found you and Laurie skinny dipping.” Samantha struggled to remember as she stared at him in horror.

    “You’re cute when you’re a fox, by the way. Even when you’re soaking wet.”
    “Oh.” A sense of relief flooded through her. “You mean, we shifted and played in the fountain.”
    “No. I mean you went skinny dipping. The shifting came after I found you. And, to answer your first question, this is my house. I brought you back here after I took Laurie home.” Oh dear God. Now that he mentioned it, snippets of memories from the previous night were coming back to her. She groaned and dropped her head into the hand not holding up the sheet.
    She heard him moving down the stairs toward her but couldn’t bring herself to look until she felt him touch her.
    He gently swept a lock of hair behind her ear and she looked up to find him staring at her tenderly. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure I was the only one who saw you.” He grinned down at her with a devilish look on his face. “And I didn’t see anything I won’t see—” His hand came up and rubbed her arm. “touch—” He lowered his head and rubbed his lips at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. “and taste, eventually.”
    As he continued to nuzzle her neck, she felt herself melting into his embrace. He nipped his teeth lightly, causing her to moan before gently licking the ache away. Samantha fisted her hand in his hair and tried to pull him closer.
    “Mmm, you taste delicious. I could eat you for breakfast.” He nibbled a trail up the side of her neck until his breath fell against her ear.