style="font-size:15px;"> He didn’t smile. Though he was hard enough beneath his jeans for Abby to feel the ongoing state of arousal that told her how much he might appreciate another round of death-defying sexual antics on any available surface, the Were’s expression was deadly serious.
“Someone’s coming,” she guessed.
“Yes.”
No way could she ask whether that someone was human, or something other than human, because that would let the cat out of the bag regarding her ability to detect Weres.
“I can walk,” she repeated. “I promise.”
He looked down at her, his face a mask of doubt.
“Promise,” she said.
He stopped walking long enough to set her on her feet—reluctantly, Abby thought. Although her leg protested when she put weight on it, luckily it didn’t give out.
Grabbing her clothes, ditching the embarrassment of being naked and upright, Abby tugged the T-shirt over her head.
“Who is out there?”
“No one you’d want to meet,” he replied.
“I noticed you took the time to get buttoned up.”
“Two naked people would have created quite a scene when we reached the street.” His eyes met hers. “I hurried.”
Upon closer scrutiny, her midnight lover was on guard, his angular features shadowed. He didn’t like whatever he sensed in the dark.
“How many are there?” Abby yanked on her pants.
“Enough to make us want to clear out of here as fast as possible.”
“So, you actually were trying to get me to safety?”
His sad expression made his face seem older, though no less appealing as he said in the manner of a confession, “What I’ve done is to let them know about you. I knew better, but you...” He let that fade and started again. “You were a surprise.”
Those words dug into Abby’s psyche as if there were two meanings inside them, if she could only comprehend. She felt tense and unable to explain to the Were she’d just thrown caution to the wind with that she knew who and what was out there in the dark as well as he did. She kept tight-lipped about mentioning that she knew about him.
Possibly her father had also been there moments before. Maybe the TTD scoured the area for reasons other than locating her, and had made a mistake. However, the new presence suggested an oncoming storm of Otherness.
Forgetting her recent decision to keep some distance from the creature beside her, Abby leaned against him to button her pants. That simple touch went a long way toward robbing her of what little breath she had left. He was hard, hot and way too good-looking for any decent thoughts to prevail.
“Oh hell!” Pushing away from him, Abby centered her weight. She had to concentrate on the moment, and whether she could really rely on a wounded limb to get her out of there. If so, it would be a miracle.
“Hell, you say? I’ll second the sentiment.” Her lover grasped her hand. “But I’m not ready to visit the land of fire and brimstone quite yet. And neither, I’m guessing, are you.”
“You got that right,” Abby solemnly muttered.
* * *
Cameron took off at a run, pulling the woman with him, relieved to find out how fast she was and that she wasn’t going to question him further or complain.
She kept up, her barefooted stride soundless on the grass and her slender arms pumping. The only evidence of her injury lay in her limp. She breathed heavily through the bruised mouth that he’d have given a lot to kiss again right that minute if he didn’t feel responsible for her safety. Thoughts about responsibility made anything having to do with her body off-limits, except getting it the hell out of there.
Four manned-up wolves were on their trail, and had ventured into protected property, potentially drawn by the woman’s scent now that he’d sexually enhanced it a thousandfold. Still, it was more likely they were after him for his part in patrolling a place they called their own, with his intent to keep them far from the busy Miami streets. For the past two months, his nightly prowling had created an invisible fence between them and the unsuspecting population.
Were those wolves dangerous? Seemed like it. But what more could happen to him after his last meeting with the fanged-and-clawed crowd? Besides, he’d taken a vow to protect and serve this city, and had to live up to that vow.
Also, at the moment, the need for a quick escape saved him from having a real conversation with the woman beside him.
Although telling her what he did for a day job, his name and rank, might have eased her mind, because people usually trusted cops, confessions at this point might also have made things worse. If regretful of the brief time they’d shared, she could file a complaint. She might cry foul over the same actions she had helped to initiate.
The situation was tricky. What would the department say about his after-hours patrol, on his own time? How would he explain it, when in no way did it make sense to allow his comrades or Internal Affairs a closer look at him or his nocturnal activities?
There were secrets to be kept on both sides of this mistake in the park, and zero chances for a future relationship with the woman he had hold of. The task was to get her to safety, then back off, forgetting wicked thoughts about her sleek, naked thighs and the kind of pleasure he’d discovered between them.
She’d been a distraction only, a kink in his plans. He needed to find other Weres for reasons that went beyond revenge. He needed information about his new state and what he could expect down the road. This park seemed like the only place to find those things.
And, he added in thought with a sideways glance at the woman beside him, the truth was that there had been someone else out here minutes ago. Werewolves, even while in their human skin, seldom used guns, and he’d smelled the metal.
“Are you coming?” he asked.
The woman beside him looked paler, and still limped. Her hair streamed behind her as she ran. She didn’t look directly at him. Cameron’s heart thudded annoyingly as he gripped her hand tighter.
For the first time since that vow with Miami law enforcement, he felt as though he had more than just a casual stake in the outcome here. Tonight, his investigation and the woman it had brought him felt personal. Was personal.
Racing between a line of young palm trees, a sign of the approaching streets ahead, Cameron chanced another look at his passionate, nameless lover, and found her expression questioning. God bless her sleek little hide, no hint of fear showed on her face—only a kind of steely determination.
She was indeed much more than she seemed. She was, in fact, a tough little thing.
Too bad for us, whoever you are.
Hell of a lot of bad timing here.
In the back of his mind lay the question of whether the immediacy of their connection
