The Hungry Wolf Ch. 01

"Did you know he dropped her off and left her?"

"He had errands to take care of, Aunt Mary." Darian laughed behind his hand at the conversation.

"Of course, my dear. But I still think it's a bit careless of him to leave her to wander the town and hang out at the Moon, don't you?"

"Careless, Aunt Mary? How could he have kept her from it?"

"He couldn't keep her from going. But he could keep her from being there alone."

"Yes, he could," Eva said with a smile as Damien put his head in his hands. "Well, Aunt Mary, I will certainly let him know and I am sure he will act on the information. Love to Uncle Victor." She hung up the phone and went to sit in her husband's lap.

"So, my brother, what are you going to do?" Darian asked, wrapping his arms around Eva and looking at his brooding twin across the library. He shrugged but didn't answer, and he didn't look at the couple watching him so closely. Damien sat back and closed his eyes, stretching his long legs in front of him. The trio seemed frozen for a while, a tableau of a family evening, if it wasn't for the teasing whispers and looks directed towards Damien from Darian and Eva, and his subsequent restless shifting and sighing.

Finally, Damien stood and trudged towards his rooms in the south wing. The ranch house was three stories, built with a central entry/foyer giving off to the north and south wings. The main floor housed a library, large conference room, dining room and industrial kitchen. It also held the main offices for the ranch and all outlying businesses. The second and third floor of the north wing was his brother and Eva's rooms, and his were on the second and third floor of the south wing. Behind the main house was a large barn, medical center, gymnasium and a huge dormitory; further in to the land were a couple dozen smaller houses, with a large commons area in the middle. Another large dormitory sat behind the houses and butted right up to the forest and mountains.

Damien paced in his sitting room, telling himself he wanted to just go to bed and forget Charlotte Bell. But he couldn't. He saw her smile when he closed his eyes, heard her laugh in every breeze. He groaned at himself, giving in to what his wolf wanted. He took a quick shower and dressed, making sure to leave the cowboy boots off this time.

Eva and Darian sat in the foyer, talking quietly with some of their pack members, as Damien came down about an hour later. He had showered and changed in to a t-shirt and jeans, a pair of Nike sneakers on his feet.

"Where are you going?" Darian called as his brother walked to the door.

"Out," he said simply.

"Anywhere in particular?" Darian smirked, knowing full well where his twin was heading.

"Yes," he said, turning to look at the couple and giving them a smile. "If you need me, I'll be at the yacht club or the opera." He chuckled as he made his way out the door, leaving Darian and Eva to wonder.

Charlie was sitting at the bar of the Full Moon Saloon when he walked in, a drink in her hand and a book open on her lap. She was reading and trying to avoid conversation with the blonde next to her.

'Leave her, Marc. She is mine,' Damien sent to the big man.

'I don't see no mark on her.' The man snorted.

'Are you challenging me?' Damien asked. Marc looked down at the bar and gave a slight shake of his head. 'Then leave her be.'

Damien walked up to the bar and sat on the opposite side of Charlie.

"Howdy, cowboy," she said, smiling at her book.

"Howdy?"

"Traditional cowboy greeting."

"I see." He watched her for a minute; she still hadn't looked up at him. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug, finally lifting her eyes to him. Her breath caught for a moment. Holy shit, she thought, did I think he was good looking? He's a Roman god sent to earth. She smiled at him. "I just knew."

"What are you reading?"

"It's 'Bloodsucking Fiends' by Christopher Moore." She held up the book for him to see. "Have you read it?"

"No, I haven't."

"It's good. Funny. He's a fun one to read."

"I'm not familiar with him." He looked around, noticing most of the patrons were watching them. "What brings you to the Full Moon? I thought Aunt Mary would have invited you for dinner."

"Oh! She did. 'Och, you should have dinner with us' she said." Charlie did a good impression of the motel proprietress, making him laugh. "But I declined. I have to eat something, I know," she said, patting her stomach, "but wasn't sure if I wanted a cocktail or ten."

"Or ten?" He leaned in and looked at her closely. "How many have you had?"

"Actually...this is only my first. It's very strong and I'm not much of a drinker."

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. I can't seem to get the bartender to take my order."

"Really?" Damien asked. He glanced over at the bartender and raised an eyebrow, bringing the man to them immediately.

"What can I get for you, Mr. Dimeo?" he asked, wiping his hands on a rag.

"A Heineken, please, Henry. And two Full Moon burgers with the works."

"Two?"

"One for me and one for my friend here," Damien said, nodding his head towards Charlie.

"Of course," Henry said. He turned and looked at Charlie. "Would you like another drink?"

"No, thank you. Just some water, please."

"What are you drinking?" Damien asked after Henry left to drop their order to the kitchen.

"Rum and ginger ale."

"Ginger ale? They don't have ginger ale here."

"They don't?"

"No." He scowled a bit, drawing his brows together.

"What?"

"May I?" he asked, picking up her glass.

"Of course." Charlie watched him closely as he took a sip, not sure what was going on. He made a face and looked at Henry as if he wanted to punch him. "What is it?"

"That's just rum."

"Oh." Charlie took the glass and sniffed at it. "Why would he do that?"

"Because you're a newcomer."

"Hmmm..." Charlie said. "Wait -- how did you know they don't carry ginger ale here?"

"Because we own it." Charlie gasped at that. "Why are you surprised?" he asked, smiling at her expression.

"You're a rancher."

"Yes, I am. And the Triple D provides all the beef for this restaurant, and a few more."

"The 'Triple D'?"

"The ranch."

"I see. But you're a rancher," she said, a puzzled look on her face. "And...this is a bar."

"Saloon, actually." Damien was enjoying having her unsettled.

"Don't argue semantics, cowboy," Charlie said, recovering quickly and poking him in the arm. She cocked her head at him. "So is it normal for the locals to try and get non-locals 'faced? Is it a sport?"

"Not at all, I assure you."

"So it's just me?"

"I don't know. Would you like me to ask him?"

"Please."

Damien looked at Henry and cocked his head to call him over. Henry made his way slowly, wiping his hands on a rag.

"Mr. Dimeo?" he asked.

"Would you explain why my friend has a glass of pure rum, when she ordered...?" he turned to Charlie as if he didn't know what she ordered.

"Rum and ginger ale," Charlie said.

"We don't carry ginger ale, do we Henry?"

"No, sir."

"So why wouldn't you tell my friend we don't carry ginger ale and ask her to choose something else?"

'Mr. Dimeo?' Henry sent to Damien.

'Answer out loud, Henry.'

"I don't know," Henry said with a shrug. "It was just a joke."

"Do you think it's funny, Charlie?" Damien asked her. She looked at Damien, suddenly uneasy at the subservience he was commanding from Henry.

"It was a joke, Damien. In poor taste, but...no harm, no foul?" she said quietly, looking down at the book in her lap and hiding her face behind the fall of her hair.

"What would you like to drink, dolcezza?" he asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. She shivered at the endearment and touch, fighting the urge to climb in to his lap and wrap herself around him.

"Just a coke would be fine," Charlie said, looking at Henry and giving him a smile.

"Coming right up, ma'am." Henry quickly had a large glass of Coke in front of her and moved away.

"What the hell?" Charlie whispered, turning to Damien.

"What?"

"What the hell was all that, Damien? The poor guy looked like he thought you were going to kill him."

"He's worried about losing his job. He should be worried." He looked at Henry at the far end of the bar.

"He didn't mean any harm."

"So he should be left to do it again to someone else?"

"No...no." She sighed, looking at him. "Of course not. It was just...why did he cower so much before you? Are you some kind of hardass?"

"Yes and no." Charlie laid her forearms on the bar and leaned towards him, cocking an eyebrow in a nonverbal request for him to continue. "I don't consider myself a particularly harsh man. But I'm not a pushover, either. My brother and I have a lot of responsibilities, and we take them very seriously." He took a swig of his beer and sat back, casually putting his arm across the back of her bar stool. "Sometimes you need to be a bit hard to keep things running smoothly."

"Yeah, but - "

"Even if there was no harm done tonight, if his behavior went unchecked it could cause serious harm the next time, or the next. Best to stop it immediately," he said, cutting off her protest. "He's cowering because I can fire him, he knows I can fire him, and he's nervous."

She looked at him for a moment before sighing. "You're right."

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry, Charlie."

"Apology accepted." She shot that smile at him and his breath caught. He moved the conversation on to other, safer topics, shifting his arm so he could make lazy circles on her back with his thumb. Charlie was acutely aware of the contact, each caress sending delicious sparks through her.

Henry came over with two huge plates piled high with food, and Damien finally removed his arm from her stool. A giant sandwich on a burger bun sat in the middle of each plate, surrounded by sweet potato fries, seasoned waffle fries and onion rings. Charlie picked up the sandwich and laughed, looking at Damien and shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" Damien asked, picking up his own burger and taking a bite.

"Um, just wondering if it would be possible to get any more kinds of meat with my meat sandwich?" She put her sandwich down and removed the top bun, peeling off layers of meat. "Let's see...ham, bacon, fried egg, meat patty...what's this? A chicken breast?" Charlie picked up the bottom of the bun. "And not a tomato or pickle in sight!" She laughed loudly, putting her hand over her mouth to stifle it a bit and looking at Damien.

"It's the Full Moon burger. The house specialty. Have to feed the beast," he said, patting his stomach.

"Maybe you should change the name to the Full Carnivore?"

"Would you like some tomato or pickle, dolcezza?" he asked.

"Yes, please," she said, smiling at him gratefully. "And another plate?"

"Be right back," he said, getting up and moving behind the bar. He walked through the swing door in to the kitchen. Charlie sat, once again feeling the eyes of the other patrons on her and feeling a bit uncomfortable. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Henry's head turned towards the kitchen and he sighed, throwing his rag under the bar and heading back through the same door Damien went through. She sat and picked at her sweet potato fries, not wanting to look around, knowing if she did she would see everyone looking back at her. She heard what had to be a small group of people laughing in the kitchen, she listened closely to see if she could place Damien's laugh out of the group but they quieted too quickly.

She was smiling at her plate when she sensed someone come stand to her right. She took a sip of her Coke and turned to look at the man. He was tall, and huge, absolutely massive, a planet on two legs. That stopped her thoughts for a moment, as she considered that all the people she had seen so far in Buck Creek were tall, and she wondered vaguely if there was some kind of radiation fallout from Hanford or maybe some fracking going on releasing an odd toxin in the area. She shook herself out of her thoughts and looked up at the giant next to her.

"Hi," he said, smiling at her.

"Hi." Charlie looked at him closely and thought he might be a bit slower than the average town resident. His face, while friendly and open, had a vacancy about it that indicated a mild mental handicap.

"I'm Lewis," he said, picking up her hand and pumping it up and down a few times.

"I'm Charlie." She said, trying to pull her hand away but not able to.

"I saw you and said I was gonna come and say hi and I did."

"Yes, you did." His face suddenly erupted in a big smile, and Charlie beamed at the 'I did good' expression in it. "It is wonderful to meet you, Lewis," she said.

"Yes, it is." He pulled on her hand a bit and bent down towards her. Charlie had a panicked moment when she thought he was going to try and kiss her, but he simply put his nose to her cheek and seemed to sniff her.

"Lewis?" she heard Damien's voice from her left.

"Mr. Dimeo," Lewis said, moving to sniff her other cheek. "She don't smell like you."

"Thank you, Lewis," Damien said, taking her hand out of his. "I think your friends are waiting for you." He nodded his head towards one of the booths behind Charlie.

"Yeah." He smiled down at Charlie and patted the top of her head as if she were a child. "Nice Charlie," he said before turning around and going back to his friends.

Charlie turned and looked at Damien, eyes wide. He still had hold of her hand.

"Wow," she said under her breath.

"He didn't mean any harm," he said just as quietly, his eyes flicking to a point behind her.

"No, I didn't think he did." She gave a laugh that sounded shaky, making the conscious decision not to look behind her. "It was just a bit...bizarre to be sniffed like that."

"Lewis is a bit..."

"Unique?"

"Exactly. For some reason his sense of smell is dominant, and he can recognize a person by how they smell better than by look or voice." Damien winced inwardly at this; while not an outright lie, it was close enough to make him feel guilty.

"Really?"

"Yes." He let go of her hand and resumed his seat next to her. She looked at the bar and saw the small plate piled high with tomato slices and pickle chips and started laughing. "What?"

"So my choices are extreme meat or extreme condiments?"

"Too much?"

"A bit, maybe." She grinned at him and started to rebuild her burger. She placed pickles and tomato slices underneath and on top of the burger patty, then replaced the top bun. She took the extra meats and egg and put them on the plate. Satisfied, she took a bite of the burger and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "Mmmm. That is delicious beef."

"Triple D." Charlie glanced at Damien to find him looking at her with pride.

They finished their meals -- as much as Charlie could, anyway -- and sat talking, oblivious to everyone else, until nearly midnight, Damien touching Charlie, little touches here and there, nothing too forward, almost as if he was making sure she was real.

. They talked about everything -- politics, religion, current events, history, movies -- no topic was taboo. Charlie told him about being a cook, how much she actually enjoyed it. Damien told her about ranching, the hard work and the satisfaction from it. They laughed a lot, too. Damien forgot his normal reticence in her presence and she forgot her normal cold sarcasm in his. She was delighted when he offered to teach her how to ride a horse, even as she realized it was an offer made of politeness more than anything else. Damien asked about her travels from Santa Fe and she talked about the different byways and small towns, as well as the wonderful places she'd seen, places that would have been overrun with tourists had they been located on main highways.

"Come on, I want to show you something," he said, standing up and tossing some bills on the counter before grabbing her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he said, flashing a smile that seemed alluringly dangerous to Charlie.

"Alright," she grabbed her sweatshirt and book and followed him out, her hand still in his. He led her to his truck and opened the passenger door for her, stepping close, making her brush against him as she climbed in. She had a brief flicker of panic, instinctual from keeping herself religiously separate from everyone for the past fifteen years, but it passed before she really registered it. Instead, she was shaken by the heat and smell of him so close to her. She buckled up and watched him climb in to the truck beside her.

He started the truck and the CD player came on, making Charlie sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he pulled out of the gravel parking lot.

"Nothing."

"Sure?"

"Roxy Music. It's just very...sexy." She closed her eyes and sighed, smiling as they drove slowly through the sleepy streets. She looked at him, a laughing smile on her face. "Are you trying to seduce me, Damien?"

"With everything I am," he said, his voice serious. Charlie turned her face to look out her window, not sure how to take his serious response to her teasing. He turned down a side street and stopped to switch to four wheel drive when they reached the end of the road.

"Where are we going?" Charlie asked as he head in to the woods.

"It's not far."

"That's not what I asked." She looked at him, his profile lit by the lights of the dash and the moonlight coming in through the window. He was incredibly sexy.

"Do you want to stop? I can take you back if you're nervous." He had stopped the truck and turned to look at her.

"No. I'm not nervous." She smiled at him, feeling shy, as he continued deeper in to the woods. She wasn't nervous, she wasn't afraid. Not in the least. And that bothered her a little. She should be. She should be demanding he take her back to the motel and never see him again. She should get the fuck out of dodge as soon as her car was ready and never look back. She knew this.

But her heart...her heart was calm. Her instinct was to just go with it, relax and let what happens happen. She felt, deep down where reason had no place, that she was safe with Damien, that as long as she was near him, nothing bad would happen to her, nothing would hurt her. She was content to follow those instincts.

"Almost there," he said, parking the truck in a small clearing. "It's just a short walk, okay?"

"Okay." She opened her door and hopped out, putting her sweatshirt on. She walked over to where he was standing and looked up at him. "What is it?"

He put a finger to her lips, making them tingle, and smiled before taking her hand and leading her through the trees. She could hear the sound of rushing water, churning water, and smiled at his back. Charlie could tell he was excited to show her this, and she started to feel his excitement, too.

They stepped past some incredibly tall cedars and her breath caught in her throat. A waterfall, no more than fifteen feet high, fell in to a swift stream of rapids. She could see the rocks in the water, the way they forced the current to change and froth. It looked like it was untouched. It was beautiful.

"Damien...it's beautiful." She was whispering, afraid to spoil the feeling of peace.

"Wait," he said, moving behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "It gets better."

"Impossible," Charlie breathed. She was hyper-aware of the man -- the warm, sexy, enticing man -- behind her.

"When the moon clears the trees, she kisses the water, turning it to liquid silver," he whispered. He'd lowered his mouth to her ear, and she could feel the humidity of his breath against her skin. He breathed deeply, shifting to slip his arms around her and hold her against him. Her scent made him feel intoxicated, hypnotized, and he never wanted the feeling to end.