Part 10 (1/2)

Tammy couldn't help but laugh. ”So poor old you ended up womanless? That had to hurt your ego.”

”Actually. There were two females.”

Ouch! It hurt to hear him talk about another woman. She was an idiot for caring. He's too hot, too charming, he's wrong for you, Tammy. Stop it! ”What happened?” she asked. ”With the other woman?”

He gave a small shrug. ”She turned out not to be my type.”

”Hmmmmm,” Tammy folded her arms. She was a sadom.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t. She had to be for asking the next question. ”What's your type then?”

Thunder looked her deep in the eyes and she felt her heart beat harder. ”I like a female who enjoys the simple things.”

”Like?” What the h.e.l.l was wrong with her? That sounded just like flirting.

”I don't know, a female who enjoys toasting marshmallows and staring into a fire. A female who would enjoy taking a walk in the rain and making love under the stars.”

Her heart sped up. She bit down on her bottom lip.

”Do you enjoy walking in the rain, Tammy?”

Yes! Yes! Yes!

He is a charmer. He wants to get in your pants so bad he'll say anything. ”I'm not sure,” she stammered. ”I've never tried it.”

”What about ...?” His eyes had that mischievous glint.

”No!” she blurted. ”Never tried that either. Did she not enjoy the simple things then? That woman from the last hunt. Was she complicated?” She decided to change the direction of the conversation. To direct it back to the other woman. Not that she was the woman.

”Nope, she wasn't complicated at all. She was here for the money. She didn't really care about me, only this,” he rubbed his golden chest markings.

s.h.i.+t! Oh s.h.i.+t! Tammy was here for the money too. She was a bad person. A terrible person. Don't panic! You're not staying. Not falling in love and not staying. She had been honest about not being here for love. ”Oh. That sucks. I'm sorry. She obviously made you believe differently”

”It's okay. It wasn't meant to be. She wasn't right for me. I enjoyed her company for a while ...”

”I'll bet.” It just slipped out.

”But when I really got to know her ...What did you say?” He narrowed his eyes and his mouth gave a twitch.

”Nothing.”

”Nothing, my a.s.s. You said 'I'll bet', and if I didn't know better I'd say you were jealous.”

She shook her head. ”I'm not, I mean, we're not even together.”

He turned serious. ”No, we're not.” Thunder pushed himself off the wall. She had to look up even higher to maintain eye contact. ”I'm going to jump in the pool.”

Disappointment coursed through her, which was really stupid. He turned and headed for the back of the cave. He walked really slowly and carefully but it was clear that his strength was returning.

Why hadn't he played the relations.h.i.+p card? All charmers did it. They made you believe in forever so that they could sleep with you, or even worse, they actually seriously dated you while continuing to screw around. Thunder wasn't doing it though. ”Okay,” her voice sounded light and breezy even though she didn't feel it. ”Enjoy!” she added as he was swallowed by the dark.

Was it her? Maybe he wasn't attracted to her after all. Maybe he was only referring to her arousal earlier as in one-sided. Maybe all of the remarks and taunts were only teasing, like he had said, and not flirting like she'd believed. She should be happy. Thrilled that he didn't have feelings for her. It's what she wanted. Join the program, stay for the minimum period and hightail it out of there. No falling in love. No letting a guy fall in love with her the easy part and make a bit of money in the process. No harm no foul. Just enough to start over. She'd been toying with the idea of moving to Florida. It would be nice to be closer to her father. He wasn't getting any younger. Point was, she should be happy he felt nothing for her. She should be happy Thunder wasn't attracted to her, yet all she felt was disappointment in the first degree.

It sucked. It totally sucked.

Chapter 12.

The water was refres.h.i.+ng. His body felt so much less heavy and c.u.mbersome than on the land. He could feel remnants of the silver still running through his veins. It made him feel slow and weak. It wouldn't be long now. Maybe by tomorrow they could head back. He could send a team to collect Cloud's body or to apprehend the male if he was still out there. More importantly, he could face Blaze and fight for a future with his female.

His mind kept returning to the human. Tamara was beginning to trust him more. To open up to him. The more he learned of her the more he wanted to know. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted.

Despite the temperature in the pool, his d.i.c.k still made an appearance. Just the thought of that female did things to him. Just the thought of peeling her clothes off and tasting all the treasures beneath. There was also the thought of sinking into her tight, wet heat that almost had him coming in their drinking water. Not a good idea.

Thunder forced himself to breathe slowly. He forced his mind away from the lush beauty. Sheep jumping, deer running, his brother's mate pregnant with their first child. Jealousy surged through him. Cloud, dead on the cave floor, smoke billowing from his chest.

That did it.

Thunder needed to get back to bed. He needed a whole lot more rest today. He had to be strong enough by tomorrow. Aside from needing to get the human back to the comforts she was used to, he needed to send that team out just in case Cloud had somehow survived his lightning bolt. Tammy had been right, he'd reacted out of pure self-preservation. The silver wedged in his back and a female to protect, he'd thrown the full force at the other male. Still, there was a chance he still lived and a chance he might come back from whatever dark place his mind occupied. Thunder could hope.

He climbed from the water, his arms shook a little as he took his weight onto them. Thunder shook his head. Blast, but he was a weakling. He hated the way it made him feel. At least he had managed to take himself to the bathroom this morning. He joked and teased Tammy but the truth was, he was embarra.s.sed about needing so much of her help. He could not wait to give her a taste of his true strength. To prove to her that he was a strong male. One of the strongest of his kind. Thankfully, such things didn't seem important to her. Not his status and not his power. She seemed to genuinely be interested in him. She had shown him glimpses of herself. Was opening up and starting to trust him. It made him happy and excited and worried and in equal measure. What would Blaze say? It wasn't something he would dwell on now.

After waiting a few minutes to air dry for the most part at least Thunder wrapped the blanket around himself. His hair was still damp and he felt a few droplets run down his back. He walked slowly his top speed at the moment.

It took a while and he was out of breath by the time he made it back. Tammy was throwing logs into the fire. He sat heavily, the mattress dropping under his weight. Then he pulled his legs onto the bed and made himself comfortable.

Tammy was tidying up around the bed. He moved onto his side, tracking her movement. Her presence relaxed him. He enjoyed her company. He could feel himself calm, his heart-rate slow. Yes, a nap was exactly what he needed.

Wait just a second.

Tammy wasn't wearing her sweater. She was in a powder blue t-s.h.i.+rt. Come to think of it, from the way her b.r.e.a.s.t.s looked in the s.h.i.+rt, he didn't think she was wearing her coverings either. His gaze settled on the sharp points of her nipples as they speared the fabric. On how her b.r.e.a.s.t.s swayed as she walked.

f.u.c.k! His c.o.c.k twitched. Thunder moved onto his belly and turned to face the other direction. It was the first time she'd taken her sweater off, aside from when she'd bathed. She was right to call him a pervert because he was a pervert. A serious pervert. She really was starting to trust him and starting to relax around him and all he could do was stare at her and imagine what it would be like to slide his hands under her s.h.i.+rt. All he could think of was squeezing her flesh, of sucking on her nipples.

He tried to get comfortable but a hard d.i.c.k was not conducive to a comfortable position. Or sleep for that matter.

Unfortunately, Tammy moved into his line of vision. She bent over to pick something up. That a.s.s. Oh, that a.s.s. It was what dreams were made of. The dirty kind.

Thunder groaned and turned his head to face back the other way. She was such a sweet female and he was such an a.s.shole.

”Are you okay?” Her voice was laced with concern. ”Are you in pain?” The bed dipped as she got onto it.

Great! She was in bed with him. It was just the three of them. Him, Tammy and his raging hard-on. He wanted to groan again but knew she would get the wrong idea. Somehow he managed to hold back a low growl as well, one that would speak of his extreme arousal.

He couldn't get the outline of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s out of his mind, or her plump nipples, or her sweet heart-shaped a.s.s. He couldn't shake the image of how her hair would looked spilled over his pillow. He was sure her eyes would darken with pleasure as he plunged into her.

”I'm good,” he finally managed to croak. ”I need to sleep,” he added, as he closed his eyes. For the first time he found himself hoping she would leave. That she would go and sit by the fire or ... just go. Somewhere else, anywhere else. His attraction for her, coupled with his body's need to heal were a powerful combination.

He groaned again ... softer this time.