Outwitting the Wolf: The Comedy, Conflict and Romance Series, #2

OUTWITTING THE WOLF

AFTER A TRYING EXPERIENCE with Devin Wolfe, Keira Hana is not looking forward to working with him again.  Tell that to her boss.  Ignoring her pleas, he assigns her to go on an expedition to the jungles of Incania, |South America, with a man who makes her blood boil.  She can’t wait to get as far away from him as she possibly can.  But when danger rears its ugly head, driving her into his arms, she realizes that Devin is a man she can actually grow to like...or more.  It’s a pity she ends up having to use her wits to teach him a much-needed lesson.

When Devin is presented with an opportunity to work with Keira again, he jumps at the chance.  There’s just something about this woman that intrigues him.  He can’t wait to explore the jungles of Incania with her.  But there’s just one challenge he must face – the fact that she can’t stand a bone in his body.  He works hard to win her over, but just when he thinks they’re on the same page, she uses her wits against him, deceiving him in the worst way.  Can he ever forgive her?

In a battle of wits where, there can only be one winner, will love prevail?

CHAPTER ONE

T ake off your pants .

The man lying on his back, staring up at Keira, groaned.  You’re going to have to do it for me, darlin’, he drawled.  I can’t move a muscle.  He winced, the involuntary reaction making it all too obvious that he wasn’t lying.  There was no way he could fake the pain she saw stamped on his face.

She sucked in her breath, feeling his pain.  Okay, don’t move.  She swallowed.  I’ll help you.  After all they’d been through together, removing Devin’s trousers and seeing him in his underwear was a concern she would have to quash.  Right now, her focus was on getting him out of his clothes so she could stem the flow of blood before he started getting woozy.  The last thing she needed was an invalid on her hands, all the way out there in the jungles of Incania.

Okay, let’s do this, she said, brows furrowed.  She was talking more to herself than to the injured party.  Stay still.

He chuckled.  You won’t see me doing a jig any time soon.  He let out his breath, then closed his eyes, obviously awaiting her next move.

Slowly, she got down on her knees and sidled up to his side.  She glanced down at the button on his jeans, mesmerized by the way it rose and fell with his every breath, her heart quickening as her gaze went lower to the bulge that sat just behind the zipper.

She blinked, shocked at the way her mind could be wandering at a time like this.  Thank the stars Devin’s eyes were closed.  It would have been too embarrassing if he’d caught her staring...and not just at his clothing, but at the goods that so many men considered the most important part of their anatomy.

Giving herself an inward kick, she bent over him, then reached out to grasp the top of his jeans with one hand and the button with the other.  Once that was loose, she grasped the zipper and began to pull it down, revealing dark-gray boxer briefs that were doing little to hide the burgeoning mound that was coming into view.  Keira bit her lip, but she did not stop pulling until the zipper was all the way down, and she was enjoying a close-up view of Devin’s cotton-covered kit.

Kiera’s mouth went dry.  There was no time for admiration, though.  He was still bleeding.  She hooked her hands in the top of his jeans and began to pull down.

Hey, hold up.  Not so rough.  I’m an injured man, remember?  Devin’s eyes were open now, and the amusement in his gaze told her he was all too aware of her discomfort. Her hands were mere inches from his groin, and her face was red, and it wasn’t just from exertion.

Keira glanced at Devin, then back down to where her hands were, her mind racing. How did she always end up in weird situations like this?  Her lips tightening as she thought about it, she gripped the fabric of the jeans even tighter, and began to yank it down.  Devin could complain all he wanted.

It had all started two weeks earlier, with a very firm directive from her boss...

I DON’T TRUST HIM, Fred.  Let me go with someone else.  Why can’t I go with Neil?  At least, I know he’s a gentleman.  Tension wound tight inside her, Keira clenched her hands in her lap.  I’ll go with anyone, she said. as she glared across the conference room table at Devin Wolfe, just not him.

Now, now, Keira.  There’s no need to be like that.  Fred Muller shook his head, the smile on his lips making it clear that he was not the least bit perturbed by her outburst.  You’ve gone on an expedition with Devin before, and you were quite successful as a team.  The two of you make a great pair, where this kind of work is concerned.  Why would I not capitalize on that synergy?

Synergy?  You call it synergy?  She stared back at him, not understanding why her boss was acting so obtuse.  As director of the Archaeological Institute of Nashville, he knew that archaeological expeditions required good teamwork.  A team, she and Devin were not.  I call it sabotage.  He made me do all the hard work, and then he hogged the limelight, and that’s not fair.  She was sounding like a sullen child, she knew, but Devin Wolfe always brought out the worst in her.

For the first time since she’d started her heated objection, the man seated on the other side of the conference table, the subject of the conversation and the target of her ire, decided to break his smug silence.  I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, ma’am, he said, in his mocking Texan drawl.  We went to that conference together.  It’s not my fault that I was asked to present the findings.

It is, too, your fault, she said hotly.  You could have told them I was the other half of your team.  You could-

I told them all that, he said, raising his dark eyebrows.  What makes you think I didn’t?

If you had, they would have let us present together.

They wanted one presenter.  They chose me.  He shrugged.  Maybe that was chauvinistic of them, but you can’t blame me for that.

Yes, I can.  If you’d wanted me there, you would have insisted-

All right, that’s enough debating about what could have happened and what should have happened.  This is a new project, and we don’t have much time.  I want my two star archaeologists on the job.  Devin’s been to the location before, so he’s the perfect lead.  Keira, he pushed a brown Manila envelope toward her, here’s your travel information.  Here’s yours, Devin.  He pushed a similar package toward the smiling man.  You’ve got five days to get yourselves together.  You leave on Monday.

Devin reached out and pulled his envelope toward him.  He was grinning.  When he winked at her, Keira could have slapped him, she was so annoyed.  Just a reminder, he said, his tone smug.  Pack light.  No lugging a suitcase through the jungle, like last time.

She sucked in an irritated breath, her nostrils flaring, but she refused to respond to his goading.  He was making it all up.  Just because her rucksack had been bigger than his, was no reason for him to make her look bad.

Ignoring his gibe, she turned to Fred.  Do we need any special shots for a trip to Incania?

It’s all in your package, he told her.  Have a quick look-through before you leave here today.  And it wouldn’t hurt for you two to knock heads together and start planning your strategy for this project.

Again, Keira stayed mum.  Her only response was to give Devin a dirty look.  It was a look full of promise, except that he didn’t know that yet.

He’s distressed her enough, not least of which, by being so darned sexy.

And if he only knew what she was planning for him, he wouldn’t look so darned smug.

CHAPTER TWO

Monday morning came all too quickly for Devin.  He was looking forward to the Incania expedition for more reasons than one; not least of all, was the chance to roam the jungle in the company of a high-spirited woman who was always ready and willing to challenge his every move; not to mention, set his every nerve on edge, with her allure and her sex appeal.  What a distraction!  And whatever her faults - and she had a few, her ornery nature being one of them - Keira Hana could never be accused of being boring.

Yes, he was looking forward to the trip.  The only problem was, he’d wanted to kill two birds with one stone and gather all the supplies he could carry, to support the local efforts of one of his favorite non-profit organizations, Help Our Children.  He’d heard good reports about the work of the group, which had been formed by a Haitian, when he was only twelve years old.  Moved by the suffering caused by forced child labor, the boy had rallied other youths to lend their voices to free children from what amounted to little more than child slavery.  Devin had done his research.  He’d found a school the group was supporting, right there in La Mesa region.  He wanted to help.

He had one challenge, though.  He’d wanted to take them school supplies, but had been so pressed for time, he’d only gathered half of what he’d planned to take with him.  His only option was to have the balance shipped to the point nearest to where he would be working.  He would then have to retrieve the supplies and find a way to get them to the remote gold mining camp outside La Mesa, high in the Incanian Andes.  Accessible only by truck, it would take several days for any shipment to reach the town, let alone the gold mines where so many children were trapped in a life of forced labor.  Still, he was determined that the supplies would reach the school that was so in need.  The institution was the refuge of the few children who’d been freed from their bondage.

Now, though, it was time to go.  He dialed for a taxi, and within minutes a car was pulling into his driveway.  Nashville International, he told the driver and they were off, heading to the airport where he would connect with Keira for their international trip.

When he got to the gate, his travel partner was already there, head down, brows furrowed, as she focused on whatever she was reading on her tablet.  He walked over to stand beside her, but she did not look up.  He cleared his throat, but still, she kept her eyes trained on the screen, totally ignoring him.  It was then, that he realized that it was deliberate.

His lips curling in amusement at her juvenile behavior, he casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he looked down at her.  I’m sorry to disturb you, Miss Hana, he said.  May I?  He jerked his head toward the empty seat beside her.  He knew he was being annoying.  After all, there were plenty of free seats, and she’d made it clear that she didn’t want his company, but right now, he was in a pesky mood.  She would just have to deal with it.

Brows still knotted, she looked up at him, then gave an impatient sigh.  She wasn’t making any effort to hide her irritation.  She shrugged.  I guess.  Then she went back to whatever she’d been doing on her tablet.

Devin didn’t let it bother him.  He dropped his leather shoulder bag onto one of the empty spaces, then settled onto the seat right beside Keira.  Over the next week or two, they would be spending a lot of time together.  She might as well get used to it.  He leaned back in the seat, as much as you could lean back in an airport lounge chair and stretched his legs out in front of him.  They had a forty-five-minute wait before boarding time, so he might as well get comfortable.

He couldn’t help the ghost of a smile that tickled