If he admitted it to himself, he would say she looked none too happy to be here. In fact, she looked agitated and anxious. Was that how a normal bride looked on her wedding day? Stone really couldn’t say since he hadn’t attended many weddings.

     Stone had a rather unexpected response to the woman before him. His cock stood at attention to salute the lovely lady. Lowering his camera, he glowered at his crotch. “Would you lie down and be quiet already? We’re here to work, not lust after the bride.” Oh, how he lusted after her. His heart thundered in his chest so loudly the sound echoed in his ears. His cock pulsed with each frantic thump, forcing him to pay attention to it. This so was not going to work. He tried shifting his position to relieve some of the pressure, but it didn’t help. Why did Marissa McRae have to be such a knockout?

     Her red-gold hair was up in some complicated-looking knot at the back of her head. Slender hands fisted at her sides as she paced wildly about the room she occupied. The snow-white wedding gown she wore pushed her breasts together and up, showing off nicely rounded curves of flesh that made his mouth water. The sequined gown accentuated her slender waist and showed her lovely hips to perfection.

     Stone shook himself, trying to regain control over his errant thoughts. He had a job to do and gawking at the bride was not it. He needed to scope out the rest of the church and see if he could capture photos of any of the guests, the groom or the father of the bride. When he began moving, his feet propelled him closer to the windows in front of him instead of around the building as his mind insisted. He pursed his lips and tried to force himself away from her, but no matter how hard he tried, his body refused to listen.

     A few feet from the window, he noticed her scent mingled with a hint of fresh roses. Drool gathered beneath his tongue and his cock hardened further. Marissa called to him on a primal level that had the beast within begging to surface. Stone clamped his jaw shut and ground his teeth together. He would not let the beast out, no matter how badly it wanted to leap to the forefront. Keeping the wolf in check was no easy feat, but somehow he would manage. He had not gotten to where he was by allowing it to roam freely.

     The closer he got to the window, the stronger her aroma. He closed his eyes. Images of long legs and fiery hair wrapped around his body instantly bombarded his mind. His eyes popped open. This would never do. He had to get away from her and fast. Ripping his gaze from the woman, he looked away before his libido forced him to turn back to the window. He sucked his breath in when he came face-to-face with the object of his desires.

     Green eyes stared at him without blinking. She looked almost desperate—a pleading look swirled in the depths of those beautiful orbs. Her fingers worked frantically at the latches on the window and pushed the pane up until only a thin screen stood between them. Stone swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and licked his lips in an attempt to wet his suddenly dry mouth and lips. What in the world would he say to her when she asked what he was doing lurking outside her window?

     “Help me,” the words tumbled out of her mouth so faintly and quickly he was not certain he heard her correctly.

     “Excuse me?”

     “Help me get out of here.” She shoved the screen out of the window, stretched a hand out to him and hiked a foot up onto the windowsill.

     Stone quickly dropped his camera, which fortunately the strap around his neck caught, and reached up with both hands to help steady her and keep her from falling. If she hurt herself because he stood by and did nothing, he knew he would never forgive himself. “What are you running from?”

     She blew out a huff of air. “Everything.”

     Not much of an answer but he was not exactly in a position to further question her. As soon as her small feet hit the ground, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the parking lot at a breakneck speed. “Do you have a car?”

     A wave of excitement washed over him. His feature story revolving around her wedding just morphed into something bigger—much bigger. This would definitely guarantee him a byline on the front page. “What?” he asked, not fully understanding what just happened while he thought of his career.

     She stopped and turned to look at him without releasing her hold on his arm. “I said, do you have a car? We need to get as far away from here as possible before they discover that I’m gone.”

     His racing thoughts braked—hard—as he realized what she was getting at. Marissa McRae wanted him to help her run away. He was in such deep shit. No one crossed this woman’s father, but like the fool Stone knew he was, he nodded his head. “Over here.” Stone pulled the keys from his pocket and hit a button disengaging the alarm. She zeroed in on the beat-up green sports car and hurried toward it. Her high heels clicked loudly against the pavement and the breath rushed out of her lungs in gasps. Not exactly the type of situation he wanted to hear those sounds spilling from her lips during.

     Marissa dove into the backseat and hunkered down as far as she could. He stared at her a long moment, until she lifted her head and frantically waved him into the car. “Come on. Move it.”

     Stone jumped in behind the wheel and slid the key into the ignition. He slammed the door and threw it into drive, peeling out of the parking lot much faster than was smart. “Where are we going?”

     “I don’t care so long as I’m not here any more.”

     Stone still had no clue what was happening, but he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she wanted to run away with him, who was he to argue? Deep inside him the wolf paced anxiously, though he had no idea what it waited for so eagerly. With no idea what to do, he did the only thing he could—took her to his place, which made the wolf very happy.