Book 1 - Page 30 (1/2)

Bella rose and folded her arms. “But she didn’t. She kissed you back.”

He buckled his belt. “Yeah, I won that bet, but I hadn’t expected it. She wasn’t the one I wanted to kiss.”

“Volan,” Bella said with disgust.

Devlyn laughed. “No, I didn’t want to kiss him, either.”

“No, Devlyn, I meant, ohhhhh... “ She stormed down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.

He stalked after her. “You’re right. I wanted to kiss you, but Volan was always in my way.”

She grabbed her fleece-lined jacket and headed for the kitchen door to the garage. “But that day after the lake — “

“I had to have you, Bella.” He pulled her into his arms. “I had to taste you, savor you, force myself to realize you weren’t the one for me, only some l.u.s.tful desire that drove me insane. Some dream I had that you were all I had imagined you to be and more, but just a dream. I had to wake myself from the dream, prove once and for all that you were nothing more than forbidden fruit. Tantalizing, tasty, but really just like all of the others. But once I felt you against my body, soft and curvy, wet and... h.e.l.l, Bella, you were real and my dreams of you were real. Once I’d kissed you, held you close, I knew no one could ever replace you in my heart.”

“And Vernetta?”

“Becoming an old wolf maid.”

“Good.” Bella separated from Devlyn, yanked the door open, and crossed the floor to the vehicle. “Where are we going?”

She sighed deeply. “I was thinking of taking a drive to my cabin.”

“I thought we were trying to catch a red lupus garou killer.” He could tell by the gentle upward curve of her mouth she was thinking of something sinful.

She ran her tongue over her lips. “All work and no play... but truthfully, near there is where I smelled the reds before. Maybe we could find some evidence that we missed before.”

“Gotcha.” He jumped into the driver’s seat.

“I only wish we could be in our wolf forms for a while.”

Knowing she wanted him to make love to her in both states — in civilization, in their silky human skin, and in the wild, covered in sleek pelts of fur — he totally agreed. “Four more days.”

“The longest I’ve ever had to wait for the moon to appear.”

The two-hour long drive to Bella’s cabin seemed like it grew longer with every mile they drove. Maybe because her thoughts were in such turmoil. What if they discovered the killer in the woods? Or Alfred and his gang?

She shook her head at herself, annoyed she could work herself up likely over nothing. Alfred and his pack members wouldn’t be running around in the woods unless they could change into wolves. And surely the killer wouldn’t hang around there either.

Devlyn reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “A deep trench is dug into your forehead. Want to tell me what’s worrying you?”

“Chrissie and the zoo man. For starters. What if Chrissie let something slip by accident? I know she’s smart, and after having raised her two kids as a single parent for the last three years, she has a lone wolf’s wariness. But Thompson is clever, too. What if he hit on Chrissie’s vulnerability? She desperately wants a man in her life again. Someone who cares for her children, and believe me — they mean the world to her. But she wants someone who loves her and she loves in return, too. It could happen if she thinks he might be the one.”

“I think she’s got a lot more moxie than you give her credit for. I’ll bet she doesn’t give an inch. I can just see her talking Thompson around in circles over the wolves and what might have happened to Rosa. And all he’ll get out of it is another commitment for a dinner out or some other kind of date.”

Bella gave Devlyn a sly smile. “Yeah. I’m sure you’re right. You certainly are observant. Most males aren’t half as perceptive.”

He cast her a smug look. “It’s in the genes. So what else is bothering you?”

“Well, I worried that maybe Alfred and his pack would be running around the woods, but I dismissed that because I’m sure they wouldn’t unless they were wearing their wolf suits.”

“Agreed.”

“But then I wondered if maybe the killer might be there, hiding somewhere.”

Devlyn squared his shoulders and sat taller. “Maybe. If so, I’ll take care of him and that will be the end of that matter.”

She took a deep breath and released it.

“Do you have a problem with that?” he asked, giving her a quizzical look.

“No. He couldn’t kill any longer. Mission accomplished. Then we could return home.”