How Not to Date a Skunk Read Free Page A

turned and walked away, the elders following. This left Bilana in the room with the naked skunk-man. She didn’t know if she should be happy or scared.
    “So…”
    “Where are you parked?” Chaska asked.
    “Huh?”
    “Where are you parked? It is time we left before someone else comes up with an excuse to stop this.”
    “What exactly is this?” she asked. “I mean, the whole naked after you turned into a skunk thing. I have to ask ’cause I seriously have to know before I freak the hell out.”
    His eyes glittered at her for a moment, then he spun around and walked over to a low table she had not noticed before. There he picked up a pair of dark-colored jeans.
    She couldn’t help but peek as he bent to pull the clothing up corded calves and rock-hard thighs. It looked like her skunk-man worked out a lot. But then she had seen him dance on his hands.
    He reached under the table to pull out a pair of the most beautiful beaded leather moccasins she had ever seen, and that included some of the most elaborate face dance regalia. He easily balanced on one foot and then the other, tugging the calf-high boots on. He bent over to adjust the fit, and Bilana had to acknowledge that he had a fine ass, the squeezable soft kind that always begged for a pinch.
    While she was contemplating giving in to the call of Father Goose, he slipped on a tank top and turned to face her. “Ready?”
    “For answers? Yes.”
    “It’s a long story.” He smiled at her, showing curiously sharp teeth. “It spans generations, and I don’t think here is the place to tell it. After all, I was invited here. I am not a member of this particular tribe, though I am family. I think it best we leave before we make ourselves unwelcome.”
    “I’m the one who is not appropriate,” she pointed out, but turned to exit the area the way she came in.
    Once inside the main tent, she carefully avoided the ceremonial circle, stepping carefully around it as she made her way toward the exit, Chaska following.
    “This had better be good,” she muttered, and he grinned in return.
    “It’s a story to die for,” he promised her.
    Funny — his wording didn’t make her feel any better.

Chapter Three
    She vaguely remembered the trip back to her hotel. She was still hazy from the pain meds, and that delicious, musky scent that covered him seemed to intensify in her truck. She made the trip on autopilot, and could barely remember parking outside of the small townhouse she’d rented on the hotel property.
    But she snapped to when she felt the door to the driver’s side open, and a set of curious brown eyes peered at her. “Are you okay?” Chaska asked.
    “You did change into a large skunk?”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “Then I guess I’m fine.”
    He stepped back and watched her as she fumbled with the keys in the ignition and finally reached around to the back seat to pull out her camera case. As soon as it was in her hand, Chaska removed the bag from her grip and held his arm out for her to grasp.
    She stared at it, mute, for a moment before she reached out and rested her palm on his forearm. It was like touching corded steel. She gripped his arm, and there was almost no give at all, almost no play in the muscles. He was like a solid wall. But then, he would be if he spent a lot of time dancing around on his hands.
    She looked up into his face and felt a wave of embarrassment as she noted his arched eyebrow.
    “Sorry,” she managed to say in an even tone. “I guess I’m not used to having, you know, gentlemanly behavior directed at me.”
    “And that is a shame, indeed.” He looked almost angry for a second, then his expression cleared. “Someone with such a gentle spirit should be cherished.”
    And what could she say to that? Bilana always had a hard time accepting compliments, probably because she had gotten so few of them during her formative years. She was a geek and a nerd and proud of it. Her interest in photography and folklore from an early