Vivian Arend - Wolf Line

She fell forward, and Jared tried to save them both. He snagged his fingers on her belt and together they teetered off-balance for a split second. It was no use, gravity won. They twisted and landed with a soft grunt on the bed. Keri was trapped under him, and he felt every inch of her smooth muscles, her ass soft under his groin. He rolled off her as if she were on fire.

Damn it. Last thing she needed if she had a jerk for a boyfriend was to have a strange wolf’s scent all over her.

He rolled too far and bumped into the headboard. The intricate built-in bookcase rocked forward, and jewelry and books fell on top of him.

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

She scrambled over and levered the unit back to vertical before helping pick items off him. “My fault. I didn’t…I wasn’t thinking.”

“Here. Let me help.”

He moved to replace the books, but she shook her head. “Not going to work. Just leave it in a pile and I’ll explain what happened.”

Was she going to be in trouble because of him? “I’ll explain. It was my fault. Don’t let them fire you over this, okay?”

She sat on the edge of the bed and smiled weakly. “You don’t have to worry about me being fired. But if you could fix the door, please? I should get going on a few other things.”

Jared headed to the closet sheepishly. Some help he was. Making more work for her, on top of the issues she had to deal with. He adjusted the door while watching her out of the corner of his eye as she tidied the best she could. Her entire demeanor screamed something was wrong. The way she kept stealing glances at him—he vowed then and there he was going to look out for her. Not only because his wolf demanded it, but because he kind of liked her. She had spunk.

And if there was anything fishy going on with Chad…

Jared might not be the strongest wolf around, but he wasn’t willing to let anyone suffer. Especially not someone he was interested in. Far more interested in than seemed logical.

Tessa dragged her around the running track for another loop and Keri groaned. “Aren’t we done yet?”

“Someone smart told me to let the cat nature out. Trust me, I need this. You’re gonna need this.”

Three days. Three long, lonely, tormented days. Keri had managed to avoid any further direct contact with him , even attempting to stop thinking of him. The gift shop had no toys, but happily the tiny bathroom in her cabin had a removable showerhead that was saving her from developing carpel tunnel. The mating urge had settled to a constant throb, as if her entire body were one giant mosquito bite, rubbed with poison ivy then sprinkled with itching powder.

It was actually far more bearable than she’d expected.

Of course, her concentration levels had dropped. She’d managed to avoid giving any too-weird advice, mainly because Tessa had totally picked up the ball and was rocking the job hard. She hadn’t had a single panic attack in the past twenty-four hours, luckily for Keri. Troubleshooting right now would require more mental power than she could muster.

The surface under their feet passed smoothly, the soles of their runners smacking the track with a steady slap, slap, slap . The even rhythm calmed her and slowly the edge of sexual urgency dulled enough she could take a full breath.

All around them were signs this wasn’t your typical Alaskan cruise. A giant grizzly lumbered past on all fours, two cougars sprinted on the far side of the track, their tawny fur a blur of motion. A loud scream of satisfaction rose as one crossed the imaginary finish line a body length ahead of the other.

Keri wanted to smile and soak it all in, to enjoy the sheer joy of being a shifter. If she wasn’t so damn horny, life would be wonderful.

Finally Tessa led them to the stretching mats. Outside the long row of floor-to-ceiling windows, the ocean waves broke against the shore of the small islands the ship passed. The sky was grey today, the horizon and the water’s surface blending in the distance to give the illusion of an endless waterway rising heavenward.

Keri sank to the floor and groaned as her tight muscles protested being flexed. “Right now I hate you, but thanks for hauling my ass out. I needed that.”

Beside her, Tessa cranked out sit-ups, one after another, her voice barely changing as she spoke. “You might need something more than a workout in a minute. This is completely hush-hush, but there’s been trouble.”

“Something wrong?” Couldn’t be too bad, since Tessa wasn’t spazzing like a cat tossed in a swimming pool.

“We have a thief on the ship.”

“Really?” Keri turned to face her friend full-on. “You’ve had reports of missing stuff?”

Tessa nodded. “The first couple were mentioned as ‘we’re not sure if we’ve misplaced it, can we look in the lost and found?’ But there are too many now for it to be a coincidence.”

Oh, this was bad. “Big stuff, small stuff?”

“Easy-to-grab things of value. Watches and jewelry left on counters.”

Keri stared in surprise at her friend. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Tessa snapped to a sitting position and grinned sheepishly. “You mean why didn’t I freak out on you sooner?”

Kinda. “Aren’t you worried?”

A long sigh escaped Tessa. “I’m past worried. Now I’m mad. But I didn’t tell you because the advice you gave me at the start of the trip was right. I knew what to do. I handled it—I calmed people down and checked the usual systems. But it’s gotten to the point we need to find out what is going on or there will be trouble. I don’t want this cruise to be remembered as the one with the petty thief.”

Keri agreed. “Well, good for you for starting strong, and I’ll do what I can. You have any suspicions?”

A small shrug. “Chad thought the only similarity between—”

“Chad?” Another person she’d been totally avoiding, because trying to explain his touch was now enough to trigger a gag reflex? Tough, not without spilling the beans on her mate being on board. Yet the man was relentless—she hadn’t had to duck into any closets to avoid him, but it had been close. “You’ve talked to Chad about this?”

“He’s the one who reported the first items to me. The head of the housekeeping department has been all over him with news. Often enough that he felt the need to bend his hoity-toity attitude and report to me.” Tessa rested a hand on Keri’s shoulder. “I wasn’t keeping secrets from you, and certainly not keeping them to share with Chad.”

A rush of heat raced over Keri’s face. This was awkward. “Not as if you have to report to me or anything. And you and him have lots in common, after all. Family friend forever, etc. etc.”

“Please. Think about it. Me and Chad? Gack. He’s like the most doggy wolf I’ve ever met.”

“Hey, some girls have a thing for their older brother’s best friend.” Tessa screwed up her face into the most hideous grimace, and Keri laughed. “Okay, yes, I know you’ve said before he’s not your type.”

“Totally. Besides, I thought you and him were making googly eyes at each other. Did you find someone else who’s keeping you busy in your cabin for hours on end?”

Keri didn’t think her time away had been for long enough to be noticed. Good thing her excessive water usage couldn’t be traced. “No, no one. But tell me more about this crow in our midst. What was Chad’s observation?”

Tessa stepped close to the window and peered out. “He wonders if someone in maintenance might be involved.”

Keri’s stomach fell, bounced off the floor and rebounded into her throat. “Maintenance?” she squeaked.

“So far most reports have occurred sometime after one of the crew went to do a job. And Keri?” Tessa wrinkled her nose as she turned, shoulders resting against the glass. “The Fedoras asked if you happened to spot a brooch when you were in their suite the other day. They put back the things that fell when the bookcase shifted position, but Mrs. Fedora only noticed today she can’t find her diamond-and-ruby brooch.”