Outfoxed by Love (Kodiak Point Book 2) (5 page)

For the second time that day, she invaded his personal space, stepping right up to him to whisper across his lips. “And that just shows how little you know the real me, Boris.”

His eyes went to half-mast as he waited for the inevitable kiss. Bad Jan would surely plant one to throw him off-kilter again.
But I’m ready for it this time.
As well as eager.

He almost cried out in protest when she stepped away and spun, coming face to face with a peeved cougar
who’d woken from his nap sooner than expected.

Fuck
me, I forgot to tie him up.
Not his fault. Boris usually didn’t make a practice of keeping people who attempted to kill him, alive.

He grabbed for his gun, determined to put an end to the damned cat who threatened his fox
, only to discover his holster was once again empty.
Twice now she’s taken my weapon.
Her and her damned feminine wiles!

Before he could demand she hand over his gun, Jan brought
his gun up, two handed, and fired.

With a blink of its eyes, that didn’t include the new third one in the middle of its forehead, the cougar toppled over.
Dead.

Boris looked from the pile of fur to Jan
, who chewed her lip in obvious annoyance, to the gun.  “I can’t believe you did that,” he said. He couldn’t. Despite the bodies he’d come across on his search, despite the story Reid once told him about Jan taking down a wild grizzly with nothing but a pocketknife and a slingshot, in spite of her comments, Boris never believed the elegant fox capable of such a deliberate and deadly act.

“Fudge it all
, neither can I,” Jan exclaimed.

“It’s al
l right. You didn’t have a choice,” he soothed, somewhat placated by her finally normal response in killing something. An appropriate girly response to killing a cat who was a man.

Big eyes regarded him with incredulity.
“You think I’m upset because he’s dead?”

“
It’s okay to be. Killing isn’t easy.”

“
I’m miffed because I should have aimed for his shoulder, because now how will we get some answers?” she said.

For real?
She was worried about questioning the cougar who’d tried to impale him on his claws and stalked her for the last eight hours or more? “I’m sure Reid will have kept one of his cohorts alive.”

“Reid’s around here too?” she asked
, peeking around. “I thought it was just you.” Jan tucked his gun into the pocket of the large coat hanging on her frame. Given he had a few more stashed in his bag and in his boot, he decided let her keep it. She’d probably just steal it back again anyhow. At least he now knew she wouldn’t shoot her toes off.

“Reid went after Tammy. According to my last text from him, they found her.”

“She’s all right?”

Boris shrugged. “I guess. He didn’t really say.”

“And did he take care of the thugs who took her?”

Yeah, led by none other than another old army buddy of theirs, Gene.
Gene, whom they’d all thought dead in the prison camp they’d spent time in. The camp that forever changed his mental state and future.

“The guy leading them got away, but Reid and the boys managed to take several of the rogues down.”

“Good.”

The feral smile on her face should have shocked him, but Boris was beginning to realize that the Jan he knew wasn’t the true Jan. The real Jan was a much tougher lady than he’d have ever credited.
Tough and sexy.

For some reason he couldn’t help but think this spelled big trouble.
And extreme pleasure.

Speaking of Reid
, though, and in need of distraction from the maddening vixen, he yanked out his cell phone and put a call in to Reid. As alpha of the clan, he’d want to know Boris had located Jan.

He didn’t bother with pleasantries when Reid answered.
“I found her.”

“Jan? She’s okay?”

Before Boris could reply, Jan snatched the phone out of his hand. “Is that the boss? Let me talk to him.”

“Give that back, woman.”

“Make me.”

“Since when did you get so argumentative
?”

‘
Weren’t you paying attention before? Since a moose decided I wasn’t good enough for him.”

“I never said that.”

But Jan ignored him to answer Reid’s earlier question. “Of course, I’m fine. No thanks to big dumbass here, tromping around like, well, a big ol’ moose and leading the enemy right to me.”

“I took care of them,” Boris said
, a tad defensively. Had she not disarmed him with a kiss in the first place, he’d have probably spotted the cougar sneaking up on them and the wolves and... Okay, so he was off his game today.

“With my help,” she corrected.

“Taking down one wolf doesn’t constitute help.”

“It does if it’s trying to chew your leg off,” she retorted.

“You’re trying my patience, woman,” Boris grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

“I’ve already told you where to shove that. Would you like help?” Jan asked sweetly.

He showed her what she could do with her offer.

“I assume that waggling finger means no? Then
, in that case, if you don’t mind, I’m talking to my boss. A civilized man. A man who isn’t afraid to go after what he wants, unlike certain people.”

His brows drew together.
“Are you calling me a coward?”

Her lips curved into a taunting smirk.
“Yes. I’m also willing to find some yellow paint and smear your belly with it.”

“I am not afraid,” he yelled.
Once again, she had him losing his temper.

“Oops, I think Reid hung up on me.”

“Who can blame him? You’re irrational. I don’t know how the man works with you.”

Tossing him his phone, Jan smirked. “Maybe if you tried me on for size
, you’d
appreciate
my merits.”

Yeah
, he didn’t miss the innuendo. Yeah, he wanted to try her on—the tip of his dick especially wanted to wear her. But he wouldn’t let her goad him into acting. “Your plan to get me to sleep with you won’t work.”

“If you say so, mouse.”
And with that saucy insult, she skipped down the steep slope, heading back the way they’d come.

Did she just call me mouse?
Why did she deliberately taunt him? But more importantly, why did it turn him on?

Jan was fully aware she’d pushed Boris to his limits. Only a completely oblivious person could miss his very obvious displeasure. She didn’t care that he simmered or that he grumbled under his breath. His glares amused her because, despite it all, it meant
he
noticed.

Notices me.

Once upon a time, Jan might have felt bad about how she treated him, except … for the first time in years she was having fun. Forget hiding behind some sweet veneer, acting like a lady in the hopes Boris would come to the realization she was the peanut butter missing on his jelly sandwich. The glue he needed to piece his life together. Acting that way had gotten her nowhere. So she was done. No more bending over backwards trying to please him. Her new motto?
Take me as I am, or stuff it.

Wonder of all wonders, it took her showing her true bossy self for him to finally take note.
And when she’d dared to give him a kiss in the hopes of jolting him, she’d gotten more than she could have ever hoped for.

He kissed me back!
Quite ardently too. As a matter of fact, he’d not quite managed to hide his arousal ever since the moment he’d laid eyes on her naked frame.

If I’d known all it would take was a striptease
, attitude, and a smooch to get him to acknowledge I’m alive, I’d have done it years ago.
However, now that she’d finally garnered some interest, she had to tread with care because, despite her belief Boris and she were meant to become mates, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t bolt or try to retreat behind the shell he’d erected around his emotions. Either was a distinct possibility, so she had to look out for herself, which meant not allowing him to tread on her emotions or ignore her again.

Nope.
Time to hold her head high and stop her pitiful attempts to gain his interest. If the moose wanted Jan, he’d have to prove it. She was done chasing him. He knew what she wanted. Now, it was up to him to lay claim.

If he could catch her.
Her human form might not have the sleek agility of her fox, but she was still quite nimble, and unburdened, she skipped along while he trudged in his snowshoes. Instinct guided her feet away from the drifts that would have bogged her steps. They encountered no wild animals or mishaps on their return trip, which took less time, given they could make a straight beeline to his truck instead of the weaving path she’d taken in an attempt to lose her pursuers.

It wasn’t until they’d clambered into his vehicle and were heading back home that Boris
—her sexy and sulky moose—finally deigned to speak to her. Course, it wasn’t a declaration of love, but it was a start.

“
Back on that hill, you said something about your daddy taught you to hunt?”

“He did.”

“With a gun?”

She laughed.
“Gun. Sling shot. Arrows. Four feet. Traps. My daddy always wanted a boy, but he got me instead. Lucky for him, I didn’t mind learning what he had to teach. We spent hours in the woods together with him teaching me everything he knows about surviving in the wild.”

“But you’re so
… so …”

“Girly?” She smiled. “That would be my momma’s influence. As her only daughter, she made sure I
didn’t turn into a tomboy.”

“How did
I never know this about you?” He seemed genuinely perturbed, or so she surmised by his creased brow.

“Probably because you never bothered to ask.
You just assumed you knew the real me. It’s a mistake many people make.” Although, anybody who grew up with her knew of her less-than-dainty side. How amusing no one bothered to clue him in. Then again, Boris, since his return from the war, didn’t exactly encourage male bonding.

“Girls who bring homemade brownies to work with icing smiley faces
and who wear pearls and heels aren’t exactly girls who usually track wild animals and carve them up for their pelt and dinner.”

“I’m special.”

“You’re special all right,” he grumbled. He changed the subject. “So how many guns do you have?”

“Why not come over one night and find out?”
Yes, she added a husky lilt to the invitation.

He shot her down
and didn’t even bother to pretend he didn’t grasp her implied intent. “Despite what happened on that hill, nothing has changed.”

She sighed
at his quick rejection. “I didn’t think anything had.”

“I’m not your mate.”

She didn’t reply. Why bother? He’d deny the truth. She’d feel a pang of hurt. Then once again, she’d curse the war that changed the boy she first fell for into a man scared of happiness.

After that, they fell into a stilted silence. A
lthough, more than once, from the corner of her eye, she caught him staring at her, his jaw moving as if he meant to speak but couldn’t find the words. Boris off balance. About time.

When they reached her house in town, she hopped out of his truck before he could make it around.
Judging by the tic in his jaw, he didn’t like this continued reminder that she didn’t actually need him.

“Thanks for bringing me back,” she said
, turning her back on him

Despite her dismissal, h
e still walked her to the door and, even once she let herself in, he didn’t leave. Standing in the doorframe, his massive shoulders practically touching each side, his expression confused, he managed to murmur, “I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

Not with that lack of enthusiasm he wouldn’t.
“Or not,” she said tartly before closing the door in his face.

Rude, perhaps, but enjoyable.
A nice girl would have thanked him for taking the time to come to her rescue, even if she was doing fine on her own. A nice girl might have even hugged or perhaps kissed him again in the hopes of triggering a heated, “You’re welcome”. But Jan was a fox, and as her father always reminded her, a fox’s true strength lay in their ability to be wily.

Time to put her strengths to use.

The next day,
Jan went to work as if she hadn’t spent almost the entire previous day wandering the frozen tundra. Reid didn’t bat an eye at her return. They’d more or less grown up together, despite their gap in age. He had a sister Jan hung out with, so he was fully aware that a day spent in the wild was a walk in the park compared to the weeklong trips her dad used to take her on. But, in a surprising twist, Boris came to the company head office looking for Reid. Rare because he tended to avoid the times Jan worked. He usually showed up after hours or when she skipped out for lunch.

For a man determined to pretend she didn’t exist, he was pretty knowledgeable about her schedule.

He couldn’t hide his surprise when he lumbered in. He barked, “What the hell are you doing here, woman? You should be at home recovering.”

“Recovering from what?” she asked as she stood with a file in need
of putting away. “I only suffered minor abrasions and bruises, which are mostly gone already.”

“But what about your mental state?”

“What about it?”

“You were attacked.”

“I was.”

“You killed some men.”

“I did.”

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

Not really, but she could see it bothered him. She caught his eye. “Listen, I’m not going to lie and say I enjoyed doing what I did. No one ever enjoys taking a life. But I’m also not a fool. It was either me or them. When it comes to survival, I can and will do what it takes. Just like you did what you had to while overseas.”

“That was different.”

“Why, because you’re a man?”

“No, because it was war, and I knew I’d have to kill.”

“And those men attacked me and destroyed my truck. If you ask me, they deserved worse than a swift death.”

He practically choked. “I don’t know who you
are anymore.”

She fixed him with an enigmatic smile.
“Probably because you never did. You never gave me a chance.”

“Because I can’t.
I’m not the man you think I am.”

“No, you’re not the man
you
think you are. I see you perfectly fine.”

“I’m damaged, Jan.”

“So let me help fix that.”

“It’s not that simple.”

Because he wouldn’t allow it. “Chicken.”

“Stop it. It’s
not going to work.”

There was that special tick in his jaw again. Good. It meant she was hitting a nerve. She smirked. “I get
it. Don’t moose with you.” Yes, she totally went there, and snickered while doing it. His incredulous expression was totally worth the bad pun.

“Are you mocking me?”

“Who me?” She batted her lashes in false innocence. “Would I do such a thing?”

He frowned. “
A day or so ago, you wouldn’t have dared.”

“
A day or so ago, I still gave a damn about what you thought. And that wasn’t the real me. Not that you’d know, since you scurry away like a mouse before a fox every time I enter the room.”

“Do not.”

“Do to. Name the last time we were both alone together.”

“Yesterday.”

She snorted. “Before that.”

His lips tightened into a thin line.

“You can’t, can you, because you haven’t allowed yourself to spend any time with me. Admit it, you’re scared of me.”

“I am not scared. I just don’t like clingy women.”

Her eyes widened. “Clingy? You did not just seriously call me that.”

“I made myself clear I wasn’t interested, but you kept throwing yourself at me. What’s a man supposed to do?”

Way to make her sound desperate. Well, he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore. She was done trying to please him. “Nothing apparently. Except stew in his own misery. But don’t worry. I’m done chasing after a bullheaded moose. I’m moving onto other pastures and other men, ones that don’t mind grazing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His expression darkened.

“It means, since you don’t want me, I’m going to find a man who does.”

“About time.
A girl like you needs a man to take care of her.”

Funny how he said it with a twist of his lips as if the idea seemed distasteful.

“First off, I can take care of myself. And what do you mean about time? You didn’t seriously think I spent the last few years staying home alone pining after you?” Judging by his expression, he had. She snorted. “Sorry to disappoint you, big guy, but despite my erroneous belief you’re my mate, I’ve been with other men.” More in an attempt to salve her wounded ego at Boris’s continued rejection. “So if you’re harboring some delusion that I’ve been a cloistered virgin these past few years, hate to disappoint you.”

She’d not meant to speak so bluntly, but after years of dancing around, it was time to lay things out in the open. She was tired of watching her friends hook up.
Tired of waiting. Tired of being alone.

And once again, the truth had unexpected results.