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“Thanks for having me,” she said as she approached him. “Miska said I should bring a bag and plan to stay a few days.”
“Miska was wrong. You should plan to stay for as long as you like.”
“The pilot took us on a scenic tour. Your land is lovely.”
The smile broadened. “It is indeed. Do you ride? Horses, I mean. I know you ride ATVs.”
“I do, or rather I used to. I haven’t ridden in years.”
Cullen took her hand and slipped it into the crook of his elbow and headed back to the SUV. “We shall have to remedy that. The manor and all the land surrounding it are best seen by horseback. Let’s get you down to the house.”
“Would you mind walking? I’d love to stretch my legs and this place is so pretty.”
“Your wish is my command…”
“Now why don’t I believe that?” she quipped.
“Because you have never been exposed to a man who means it and has the ability to make it true.” He turned his head back to the plane. “Miska, get Salem’s things and take them and the SUV back to the house. Salem wishes to take a walk.”
“Yes, Alpha,” was the response.
As they began to stroll down from the landing strip, Cullen answered her questions about his home and things she pointed to.
“Why don’t you tell me why you really asked to see me?”
“Couldn’t it just be I was overcome with your beauty and dominant presence?
Cullen laughed. “It could be. I’d like it to be, but we both know it isn’t.”
“Damn. So much for the fantasy. The fact is, as I’m sure you know, I’m all alone up here.”
“Since the day we met, you have never been alone.”
It was Salem’s turn to laugh. “Yes, it took me a couple of days to figure that out, but eventually I did.”
“I never doubted you would. You are far too good at your job to not notice things. I hope they weren’t too obvious.”
“Not at all. I should have been able to spot surveillance—anyone’s surveillance—the first day, but I didn’t. I was originally told nothing about shifters by the SPU. I didn’t think they knew about your kind…”
“They don’t.”
Best to lead with truth if she was going to get Cullen to agree to work with her. “They do. I spoke with my boss, and he told me about shifters. I think his information is all wrong, but then it was wrong about the vampires. We’re going to need to do something about them.”
“As I feared, they have cleared out of the ghost town where we met, but they will resurface.”
“How did you know where I lived?” she asked to see if he would return the honesty.
“I slipped a tracker into your bag. It was only a tracker and didn’t have any listening or visual components. It simply let me know where you were.”
“You could have asked,” she accused.
“You wouldn’t have told me,” Cullen returned. “May I assume that you’re asking to see me is a sign you’ve decided I can be trusted?”
“You may. The SPU sent a team to deal with the vampires.”
“They didn’t. I sent my men that very night. The vamps had cleared out. And before you tell me the SPU went anyway, they didn’t. I have a small patrol watching the place. It is now truly a ghost town, and no one has been there since we moved against them.”
“Shit,” she swore. Charlie was far less in-the-know than she’d suspected.
