“I’m not giving up.”
Hunter folded his arms across his chest and speared her a look that said he would have his way or else. “Here’s the deal. I need to find out what happened to me. If someone pushed me off a cliff, I don’t want whoever did it to know I’m still alive, yet. So I need a nice out-of-the-way place to stay. You require some protection. Michael’s window is broken and needs to be repaired. And if you think you locked the back door, then someone used a key to get in. You’ll need your locks changed, and I can assist you. In the meantime, I’ll snoop into Bethany Wade’s death.”
Tessa’s mouth gaped.
He added, “For room and board.”
“But if you can’t be seen, how can you investigate?”
“I’ll manage.”
Again, she had the feeling he knew more about himself than he was letting on. He sounded like he was an undercover operative used to slipping in and out of dangerous situations, unseen and unheard. He certainly was built like a man who physically trained all the time. Plus, he exhibited an unswerving confidence, bordering on out-and-out male arrogance, as she assumed someone in the Special Forces or Rangers would act.
“All right. You can sleep in the spare bedroom.”
“I’ll sleep wherever you bed down for the night.”
That left unbidden thoughts of rugged sex with a mountain man blazing across her brain. She clamped her mouth shut, blinked, and managed to reopen her mouth and say, “Pardon me?”
Chapter 3
IF EVERY MUSCLE HADN’T ACHED SO MUCH—THE PAIN slicing all the way through to the marrow of his bones—the incredulous expression on Miss Tessa Anderson’s face would have made him smile. But the situation was too dire to make light of it. He might not remember his whole name or what had happened to him, but one thing the concussion had not robbed him of—his wolf instincts.
They warned him whoever had broken into the house and stolen Tessa’s gun had also lain in her bed—on the side of the mattress where she always slept—rolled in her scent and carried it with him. Which meant only one thing. The perpetrator wanted her for his own—and since he was a lupus garou, that was bad news.
Worse than that, she triggered a craving in him to such an extent, he was having a hell of a time tamping down the feelings, and remembering why he had to keep his interest to himself.
Her hair cascaded over her shoulder blades, thick, soft red curls he longed to plunge his fingers in again. Her clear green eyes were tinged blue, not a speck of amber: bright, expressive, not wary as he expected, being that he was a stranger without any memories and here most likely due to foul play.
And the frumpy emerald sweats she wore, although designed to hide a woman’s sensuous shape, did nothing of the sort. The swell of her generous breasts, the curve of her thighs, her rounded ass, all were perfectly outlined by the soft attire. No belts or buttons to hinder their removal either.
He took a ragged breath and sat taller, absorbed the heat from the fire, which helped to ease the ache in his bones, and raised his brows. “I’ll stay with you wherever you make your bed. The house isn’t secure. Either we sleep here by the fire, or if you have enough blankets for your bed, we stay in your room.”
If it was up to him, he would have opted for the comfort of the mattress, but most of all snuggling with the woman. But her scent, her pheromones, the feel of her silky hair, the way her soft body had pressed against him—and the kiss—had aroused him to such a degree, everything about her was throwing him off kilter. A one-night stand with a human female was one thing. But he was certain one tumble with her wouldn’t satisfy the carnal urge. And since he needed to stay longer to protect her, it was better to keep their relationship as platonic as possible. Yet, the wolf part of him was already heading down a dangerous, forbidden path.
She licked her lips and turned her gaze to the fire. His groin tightened. The light sparkled off her eyes and her moistened lips glistened. He’d been in a half-aroused state ever since the woman had manhandled him on the beach in her tight black denims and breast-hugging turtleneck, dampened by the sleet, her hardened nipples teasing his chest when she had tried to revive him. Even half-conscious, the wolf side of him had been aware of her special scent, sensed her fear—not of him, but for him. If she learned what he was, what he was capable of, she would fear him.
“I guess we could sleep here. By the fire. It would probably be warmer.” Her gaze shifted from the flames to him.
The look in her eyes said she’d be safer curling up next to the fire. Less intimate than sleeping with him in her bed. Yet there was a hint of something else. Desire to be with him? But she seemed to be waiting for him to make a decision. Which couldn’t help but please him. His sister was so testy of late, seeing a female bow to his leadership was much appreciated.
Sister? Where the hell had that memory come from? He tried to dredge up more, but came up blank.
“Don’t you think?” Tessa asked, when he didn’t respond.
Jarring him back to the situation at hand, he rubbed his right arm, the muscle caught in a spasm. He should have said she was right, sleeping by the fire was a good choice. Safer for both of them. But his animal needs were getting the best of him. He took another deep breath of her scent, sweet and musky. He wanted her, no matter how much he tried to persuade himself it would be a mistake.“That would be fine,” he said slowly, his gaze never leaving hers, all the while judging her reaction. “But already I’m stiffening up pretty badly. Maybe I will take something for the aches and pains.”
He wasn’t lying, but normally he would suffer rather than let a woman know how he felt.
Tessa’s face grew shadowed, and she hurried to take the plates. “Oh, oh, of course. You must be feeling awful.”
She rushed into the kitchen, and he almost felt guilty. But he liked her maternal instincts, and no matter how much he knew he should shove his baser needs aside, he wanted to share the bed with Tessa. She was a grown woman after all, and he, a grown… well, man of sorts.
He glanced at the living room window, the curtains drawn.
Had the gray been watching them when they climbed to the house from the beach? The sleet was coming down hard, cleansing the air. He couldn’t have smelled him if the lupus garou was being careful. Not a true alpha male then. If he had been one, the wolf would have made his presence known, indicated up front that he had laid claim to the woman. As a beta, the wolf would have rolled in her sheets before he saw Tessa hauling an injured gray up the hill. The lupus garou must have observed them, hiding in the trees, loathing him.
If the thief got anywhere near the house, he would regret it. But even a beta lupus garou could be a dangerous proposition for a lone human female.
Tessa returned with a glass of water and a couple of white pills. “This should help. I’ll be right back.” She whipped around and headed for the kitchen, then banged inside the cabinets.
He took the medicine, finished off the water, and rose from the floor. Not meaning to, he groaned, and she caught him in the act.
Her brows furrowed deeper as she tightened her hold on a stainless steel saucepan. “You’re really hurting, aren’t you? Why don’t you lie down on the floor next to the fire, and I’ll rub some liniment into your muscles. I’ll warm this water over the fire, and you can wash the saltwater off your skin. When the electricity’s back on, you can shower properly.”
He meant to conceal his satisfied expression, for her sake, but he couldn’t help it. She was eating right out of his hands.
She twisted her mouth and set the pot on the fire. “I’ll be back.”
After watching her walk down the hall to the bathroom, and seeing nothing amiss, he returned to the living room, stripped out of her brother’s sweats and reclined on his stomach on the carpeting next to the fire. He rested his head on his arms, but even that movement sent a streak of screaming pain from his arms to his back.
Tessa stepped into the room and he heard her intake of breath. Her eyes grew big and her lips parted, but she had already seen him nude.
“I hope that stuff works.” He attempted looking as innocent as an alpha gray pack leader could manage who was already fully aroused, his voice way too husky.
“Uhm, you’re awfully cut up. Let me get some antibacterial cream, too.” She set the tube of liniment next to the fire and left. Down the hall, she rummaged around in some drawers.
She returned posthaste, carrying a handful of creams, his salvation. In anticipation, he relaxed his stiff muscles.
After leaving the creams on the coffee table, she knelt beside him and dipped a washcloth in the water. She slid the hot wet cloth over his shoulders, her touch gentle, and he gave a raspy sigh. “Got hot fast.”
“Too warm?”
“No, feels just right.”
“The faucet still had some hot water. The pipes would be cold and it takes forever for the bathroom water to heat even on a warm day, but you might be able to take a fast lukewarm shower.”
He needed a cold one to keep his libido in check with the woman touching him so tenderly. “This is fine.” Better than fine.
She washed his right shoulder and arm and before he could grow chilled, she patted the skin dry with a towel. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her ministrations. No one had ever treated him with so much kindness that he could recall. Hell, his sister would have shoved him in a tub of cold water, not wanting him to soil the sheets with the odor from the sea.
Again, an elusive memory of his sister. But he couldn’t dredge up anything further.
Tessa probably couldn’t smell the fishy odor on his skin like his kind could, but the scent was pretty pungent. He felt like he had been dropped in a vat of freshly caught fish off the coast. Not that it bothered him. Getting skunked was about the worst odor any wolf would have to contend with. Although he had been a pup when it happened, too curious for his own good, his parents wouldn’t let him inside the house for days. Thankfully, the weather had been mild and the moon out so he remained a wolf the whole time, foraging in the forest, no chores to do.