“Mess with the bull and you’ll get the horns?” I smile.
My heart races out of control at the heat radiating off his body. His familiar spicy scent drifts toward me. Eric did not do his job last night. Not even close.
“You’re the bull? I’m the horns?” He smirks.
Oh, God. Horns. Long, hard horns.
He closes the space between us. My pulse threatens to explode out of my neck.
“A wolf doesn’t always need to pretend to be a sheep,” he says as his fingers touch the spot on my throat where my pulse flutters, his favorite place to caress, the pads gentle against my skin. Then, he balls his hand into a fist and jams it in his pocket. “Sometimes being a wolf is enough.”
“You can sense fear?” I reply.
We make eye contact, the connection searing in its intensity.
“Among other things.” The words drop between us, a threat, a promise. Me. Him. Against the wall, on the floor, in a bed, everywhere, anywhere. Desire hums, a current, poised to electrocute us both.
I swallow and take a wide berth around him, careful we don’t touch. As I do, I glance down, and Finn’s hand is flexing in his pocket. A single step toward him and we’d both cave, give in, fuse. My body is waging war on my head.
When I get to the door, I turn back to him. He’s only half facing me, focused on the wall, his jaw tight with tension.
“Are you coming?” I say.
He raises his eyebrows, a mixture of amusement and annoyance clear on his features.
“Now you want me to come? Could you be any more fucking confusing?”
“When did I say I wanted you to come?” At his expression of disbelief, I give him a sly smile. “I was simply saying I’llallowyou to come.”
Finn chuckles as he ambles toward me. “Allow me?” He rakes his gaze over me, amusement winning out. “Doesn’t work that way.”
“If you follow me,” I say, going out the door. “I think it does.”
His chuckle warms my chest and spirals to other areas. A grin splits my face as I lead the way to the front door. We don’t take long to reach the entrance, and Finn stays behind me the whole time, which is both thrilling and unsettling.
“Where is it?” I ask Jay as soon as I catch sight of him in the entryway.
“Left it outside.”
“Good.” I open the huge wooden door to find a small, wide package off to the right.
I don’t need to check to know Finn is behind me, just beyond my shoulder.
“Why didn’t you let Jay open it?” His voice is gruff.
“He’s got a family.” I squat to pick it up and head toward the driveway, away from the house.
“He’s your bodyguard. This is his job. What the fuck do you think is in there?” Finn’s footsteps are heavy on the driveway.
“I don’t know. But he’s got kids, a wife.”
“And you’ve got a whole company full of people depending on you.” His hand comes around the side of my body and snatches the package away.
“Finn—don’t—” But I’m too late. He’s ripped the packaging off and yanked back the cardboard.
Inside is the same thing I’ve been getting for a couple weeks now. An old-fashioned alarm clock lets off a shrill ring as soon as the parcel opens. Scrawled across the face are the wordstime is ticking.
He takes the clock out of the box and cradles it in his hand, tossing it into the air. “This some kind of warning?”