Page 16 of Wolf's Mark

Damn it.

At least I was smiling as I allowed him inside, turning on a couple of lights before heading to the kitchen. “I don’t have much. Wine. Bourbon, I think. And vodka.”

“Whatever you’re having.” Jax, as he’d told me he preferred to go by, was leaning against the jamb of the kitchen door. His long, muscular legs were crossed at the ankles, his hands in the pockets of his charcoal trousers.

He was watching me with the same intensity as he’d been doing all night. At least now, with the bright light of the overhead kitchen fixture, I was able to see just how incredible his eyes truly were. They were mesmerizing, his gaze something whatever enemies he faced should be terrified of.

“Make yourself at home.” I turned away before I couldn’t, concentrating on pulling out two rocks glasses, and dumping ice from the freezer into both. He didn’t make a sound as I prepared the drinks, using the freshly squeezed orange juice with vodka instead of the bottled crap from the grocery store.

“You’re not from around here,” he said a few seconds later.

“How can you tell? My accent?” I’d been told I had a slight Virginia twang, even though I’d only heard that when arriving in Chicago and the university.

He laughed and the sound sent a series of bottle rocket-type vibrations through me. “Hardly. You can tell someone who lived in a larger city easily in comparison to the locals.”

“You’re right. Richmond, Virginia. I was born and raised there.”

“Why Cartersville? Not that I don’t enjoy the beautiful surroundings, but you’re a long way from home.”

“Because I was offered a job. Plain and simple.”

Big fat lie.

Well, not completely.

“I applied to something like sixty forensics units in various parts of the country. I was ignored, and laughed at given my lack of experience, or told come back when I was older. No kidding.” When I turned around, I couldn’t help taking a beat to stare at him like some lost little girl with a crush.

He’d taken me at my word, removing his jacket and rolling up his long white sleeves. His forearms were just as muscular as it seemed the rest of him was, both sporting black ink reminding me of vines growing in a summer garden. For several reasons, his tats seemed out of place to a man driving a two-hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle and sporting a watch that cost more than the house I was living in.

If I could even afford to purchase it. Renting was just fine at this point.

He walked closer to me, which sent another series of tingles dancing throughout my body. The moment he reached for the glass, our fingertips touched and I was instantly lightheaded.

I had to be honest with myself. I didn’t like feeling this way. No man should have any level of power over me.

Even as I tried to shut down my emotions and my strange yearning, my thoughts drifted to the single intimate enjoymentI’d gotten over the last year plus. The corded mechanism had been used far too often.

Maybe I needed a battery-operated vibrator instead. Perhaps I’d purchase one in hot pink that could be used in the shower.

I couldn’t believe what I was thinking when I had a stranger in my house. Although I had to admit that Jax didn’t feel like a stranger any longer. It seemed as if I’d known him for years.

“Their loss,” he said. “Our gain.”

He made the statement as if he and his family owned the town. If what Mattie had told me was true, they basically did.

“I’m happy to be here. There is something very special about a quaint town where people know everyone else.”

His laugh was followed by a quick wink. “Nice try. The town is quaint as you say, but you’d prefer to be working in a big city morgue where you could get your hands on a dozen bodies a day if possible.”

“Well, dissecting a hundred bodies a day isn’t possible, but guilty as charged.” We both laughed, which erased some additional tension. It was interesting how nervous he could make me. I took a sip of my drink as the laughter died off, even looking away from him for fear I’d expose my thoughts.

My needs.

“You don’t need to feel so anxious around me, Sedona,” he said in a deeper voice than usual.

Oh, lord. He was walking closer, pushing all those tasty buttons and boosting my longing. I shifted by a few inches, sliding downthe counter. He wasn’t deterred, suddenly standing right in front of me.

Meanwhile, as every geeky girl did around a hot man, I hid behind a prop. In this case, my drink, taking sip after sip. The marvelous scent of his aftershave had impressed me before. Now it was intoxicating.

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