Pursuing Paige Read Online Free PDF

“Why? Do you think you’re going to get lucky while he’s gone
or something?” The way her body responded to Jarek, she couldn’t
really say he was wrong to expect it.
    His eyes grew predatory
and his lips twisted in a smile. Her heart hammered. “Anything can
happen,” he replied in a silky voice.
    She cleared her throat,
her face flushing, and looked away. “And what’s your job
during this emergency? Trying to seduce me?”
    “I wish, but no. I’ll
have to go into town, meet with the governing body of our village.
You can come with me if you like. I would feel better if you were
at my side.”
    “And how would I get
there?” She glanced around. “The village is far away, right? And
there are no cars, no horses.”
    Jarek simply smiled and
spread his arms.
    She laughed. “I saw a
dire wolf for the first time today. I don’t think I’m ready to ride
one.”
    He had a mischievous
twinkle in his eyes. “But you’re curious, I can tell. You want to
know what I feel like between—”
    “Jarek!” She narrowed
her eyes and gave him a suspicious look. “Is this an analogy for
something else?”
    “Maybe.”
    She laughed. “I keep
expecting to wake up, but I’m not going to, am I?”
    He shook his head. “All
of this is real, one-hundred percent.”
    She sobered and met his
eyes. “I am curious, you’re right.”
    “I know.” He paused and
raised his eyebrows. “Shall we go?”
    She hesitated, drew a
deep breath, then nodded. “Okay.”
    “Take your dancing
shoes and leotard with you.”
    Paige frowned.
“Why?”
    “You’ll see.”
    She shrugged and went
to grab her bag. She’d had her dancing clothes in her purse—really
more a tote bag—when she’d been pulled through the veil.
    She returned to the
yard just in time to see him shift. The air shimmered and Jarek
stood before her in dire wolf form. Sun gleamed on his smooth black
fur. She caught her breath at his beauty and moved forward
carefully to touch his nose. Jarek closed his eyes and pushed
against her palm. His fur was downy as feathers.
    Jarek inclined his
head, then lifted it toward his back. She moved to his middle,
trying to figure out how to get up there. She’d ridden horses a few
times, but there’d been a saddle and stirrups. Finally she just
jumped and climbed up his side.
    Atop the dire wolf, the
world looked pretty small. She twined her fingers into his silky
fur for support and settled against his back. Jarek shuddered,
almost in a purr.
    He moved toward the
trees, slowly picking up speed. Her body molded to his as though
made to fit him, moving with every lurch and long stride. Jarek hit
the woods at a lope, quickly speeding to a flat out run. She
balanced on his back, finding a rhythm. It was amazing how he could
avoid the low hanging branches, fallen logs and rocks. He cleared
them by jumping or dodging. Nothing came close to touching her. The
greens and browns of the forest melted together as his speed
increased and she put her head into his fur and closed her eyes,
enjoying the ride.
    They finally reached
the edge of the village. The houses, mostly underground dwellings
that incorporated nature into their construction, began to become
more numerous. She watched everything carefully. It was so
different than what she was used to. One could tell without being
told that these people lived close with the earth. She’d never been
much of an environmentalist, yet this intimacy with nature spoke to
her.
    There were few people,
but those who were around waved and smiled at her as they passed.
She assumed most everyone was absent because of the great Magica
Emergency.
    Jarek stopped in front
of a non-descript building built into the side of a huge hill. She
slid off his back and, after a moment, he was a man again.
    And he was quite a man.
Incredible sculpted muscle shaped his arms and chest. A trail of
dark hair leading down to his enormous—
    She coughed and looked
away from him.
    “Sorry. It’s the hazard
of shifting