Awakened By The Wolf

Brice’s laugh rang hollow. “Nothing’s broken. Of course, if you want to check, I won’t object.”

“No, no.” Cassie curled her fingers into the soft dirt.

“Too bad.” Ever so slowly, he reached for her hair. Rubbed the strands between his fingers. Pulled a curl straight. Released it. As it sprang back into shape, his mouth carved a lethal smile into his granite face.

Cassie might’ve managed to stomp out the silly excitement polluting her brain if he hadn’t lifted her hand and inched his nose up her arm. The soft scratchiness of his whiskers wiped out her common sense. Her body throbbed, and not just where he grazed her skin, but in places deep inside.

No man had touched her with such reverence and delight. Actually, no man had touched her at all. Still, she didn’t think just any man’s touch would make her feel this cherished, which was why he had to stop.

“Brice—”

“God, you smell good.” His nose teased the curve of her jaw and traced the column of her neck. Cassie couldn’t help but inhale his scent. Salty, earthy and something distinctively male that made her quiver. The alien sensations almost made her forget who he was. And who she wasn’t.

“Stop!” Wanting to push him away, she meant to place her hand on his chest. Where it landed was somewhere lower, maybe a smidgen higher than his groin. Hard and warm, the skin beneath her fingers trembled.

Brice’s throaty rumble rendered Cassie senseless. Her body remembered his heat and strength pressed against her when he’d trapped her on the porch and again when he’d immobilized her on the ground. Each time, he’d taken care not to hurt her. Just as he did now. Holding her firmly to prevent escape but not forcefully enough to arouse alarm. Instead, his possessive hold caused her to snuggle against him. His strong arms made her feel sheltered and safe.

“Who are you?” Brice’s hot, heavy breath fanned her ear. “What are you doing here?”

“Cassidy Albright,” she answered. “I work for your parents.”

Brice roughly pushed away from her as if the mere act of touching the daughter of Imogene Struthers would infect him with Ebola.

The wispy, feel-good high Cassie was flying on took a nosedive. Apparently Brice—along with a multitude of others—judged Cassie for her mother’s sins.

So much for being the perfect gentleman Margaret had painted him to be. He wasn’t a gentleman at all. He was a freaking werewolf.

She should’ve known better than to let hormones cloud her good sense. No man was worth risking her future.

Not even the wolfy one standing with his back turned so that she had to look straight at his tight, nicely shaped ass. Thank goodness it wasn’t his crotch. If she saw that thing again, she’d never get the blasted image out of her head.

Rational mind rebooted, she stood and brushed the dirt from her arms and legs.

“What did my parents hire you to do, Miss Albright?” Brice’s long fingers raked the turbulent waves of his hair.

“I’m a guest services clerk at the resort.” For the past four years, though her history with Brice’s parents and grandmother went back much further. Not that he had ever noticed.

“Tell no one that I’m here.” His tone implied or else.

Cassie thought the request odd since everyone expected him to come home, but his personal affairs weren’t her business. “Whatever you wish, Mr. Walker.”

“Come with me.” He turned, offering his hand in a way that made Cassie feel as if she had the cooties.

“I’d rather not.” She didn’t need his feigned chivalry.

“It wasn’t a request.” Brice’s steel fingers cuffed her wrist. Tiny bolts of electricity scuttled up her arm.

“Don’t touch me.” She slapped his hand and jerked free before the shock wave pulverized her resolve.

Brice had the audacity to look stricken. “I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

The words rolled off his tongue, soft and gentle, and landed on her heart like glops of acid—searing and scarring on impact. From the first syllable, his assurance was a lie. Though Brice wouldn’t physically harm her, his reaction to her identity gouged deeper than a wolf’s teeth ever could.

“Did you hear me?” As he loomed over her, he bore most of his weight on his left leg.

“I’m not deaf or stupid. I don’t care if you are Brice Walker. I’m not going anywhere with a freaking werewolf.” She rushed to leave the woods, alone.

At the spot where she had fallen, Cassie kicked the log. A black racer slithered from underneath, lifted its rounded head and stuck out its forked tongue in silent laughter. Even nature mocked her foolishness.

Brice snatched the snake and slung it out of her way.

“Would you please cover up?” Cassie gritted her teeth and continued toward the road.

“With what?” Brice limped beside her.

“Can’t you conjure something?” Walking next to a naked man in the middle of the night was unnerving enough. Walking next to a naked werewolf in the middle of the night was pushing her hold-it-together abilities beyond capacity.

“I told you, I’m not a magician. I can’t do magic.” He hedged in front of Cassie and forced her to stop. “I don’t understand why you’re upset with me. I can’t help what I am.”

“Neither can I.” She matched his defensive tone.

“Okay.” Brice’s dark brows drew together. He clasped her hand and stroked his thumb against her dirt-smudged knuckles. “Let’s go back to being friends.”

Can’t do magic. Ha!

Even now his charm-the-panties-off-a-nun grin wove a spell through Cassie’s spirit, lifting her to lofty places that she knew better than to perch. Friendship was too much of a liability. However, for his grandmother’s sake, Cassie would be civil. “Casual acquaintance is the most I can offer.”

“You’ve claimed my bed and my clothes. I’d say we’re beyond the casual stage.”

“Borrowed,” she corrected. “I don’t claim things that aren’t mine. You can have your shirt back when we get home. And for the record, the sheets on the bed are mine. Yours are in the closet.” Cassie stepped around him.

Brice’s firm fingers squeezed her shoulder. “Sleep in my shirt. Hell, roll around naked on my bed. I don’t care. Just explain why you are living with my grandmother.”

The tops of Cassie’s ears heated more from irritation than embarrassment. Three days ago, she’d awoken in her trailer to the sound of bulldozers. The scuzzy landlord had failed to inform his tenants that the county had declared eminent domain over the mobile home park. The residents had fifteen minutes to pack and vacate the premises or face arrest for trespassing. “I lost my home, and your grandmother invited me to live with her.”

Cassie bristled at Brice’s impassive expression. “I’m not taking advantage of her. I cook, clean and run errands in lieu of rent. Your parents are aware of the arrangement. I guess they forgot to mention it when they called you.”

“I haven’t spoken to my parents in five years.” The cold, hard edge in his voice caught her off guard.

“Seriously?”

“Disownment isn’t something I joke about.” Hurt shimmered beneath his grim expression.

Something wasn’t right. Gavin and Abigail Walker were proud of their son, but had they been unable to accept what he’d become? Was that why he’d moved away?

Cassie’s stomach worked itself into knots. “So, you don’t know what happened last night?”

“No. Enlighten me.” His dramatic splay of hands irked her.