Page 16 of Wolf's Keep

“Is it yours? The amulet?” Get him talking.

Yes, a much better idea.

He leaned forward on his stool, elbows resting on his knees, scrutinizing her, and she scuttled back a few steps. Space, she needed space between them. So she could keep her wits about her. To give herself a head start if fleeing into the tenth-century countryside was the better option. So she wouldn’t imagine what it would feel like to have him sweep her up in his arms. She slammed a halt to her backward trajectory, and her runaway thoughts, stiffening her spine. Letting him see he intimidated her would only work to his advantage, not hers.

He didn’t answer her, tilting his head to the side, his brow furrowing. His gaze raked over her body, absent of its previous heat, taking in every inch of her. Her insides quaked and fired-up nerve endings danced along her skin, but she remained still. What was he searching for?

His attention narrowed partway down the left side of her body. She looked down. Her watch.

Oh hell.

Definitely not from the tenth century. What would he make of that? A piece of witchcraft? His gaze fixed on it, and his eyes narrowed. He couldn’t possibly hear its ticking… Could he? She strained, listening for the tick, tick, tick of her watch, but she couldn’t hear it over the crackling of the fire and the storm raging outside.

Glancing back at him, she gasped. He was on his feet, striding past the fire, closing the gap between them. Fast. All rational thought vanished, along with her plan and her courage, as six feet, and more, of muscled warrior barreled toward her. Fight had never been an option. That left flight. Erin bolted for the door, swift on bare feet. He gave chase, his long legs giving him the advantage. Two more steps.

Could she make it?

Strong arms snatched her off her feet, pulling her body against his. She squealed, struggling, but he held her tight. Kicking out at him, she tried to slip from his grasp, all too aware of his muscular body pressed firm against every inch of her from behind. A soft groan escaped him, a hint of warm breath on her cheek. She shivered, heat invading her body, her thighs clenching. She bit back a moan, struggling harder.

“Be still,” he growled in her ear, his arm a steel band about her waist, her wrists gripped in one large hand. Was that…? Could she feel…? She stiffened, panting. From exertion, fear or in reaction to his arousal? She couldn’t be sure.

His chest rose and fell against her back, his breathing as rough as hers. She remained still, uncertain what he’d do, not wishing to provoke him any further. And yet, Lord help her, she wanted to provoke him further.

What has gotten into me?

He loosened his hold, shifting his hips away from hers. She smothered the sting of disappointment, her body trembling. She fought against the desire to press back into him, to rub herself against his thick erection. The inappropriateness of her body’s reaction wasunbelievable.

“Why did you run?” His chest rumbled against her shoulder blades. “I had no reason to hurt you.”

“It’s the tenth century. Like you need a reason.”

“The what?”

He grunted, releasing her from his arms, and Erin pulled away as fast as she could, but he didn’t let her go completely. Oh no, that was too much to hope for. He maintained a grip on her wrist, tethering her to him. She didn’t want to look him in the eye but keeping her attention on his face restrained her gaze from sliding down. Down to where his intentions would be pointedly obvious.

It didn’t comfort her. Heat suffused her cheeks. His gaze hot, lips held in a thin line, his emotions warred across his features.

“You speak,” he said, after a few moments, his breathing labored, “as if you are an outsider, a foreigner.” He held her wrist up to examine her watch, momentarily distracted by its moving parts.

Erin quivered, conscious of his grip on her arm. “I… I am an outsider.”

Shadows flickered in his eyes. A strong, musky scent filled her nostrils. There was a caged energy about him, barely restrained. The chase had excited him, stirred something within him, a darkness, basely sexual. And it hungered forher.

Erin thought she’d had a fair chance of making it to the doorway, into the corridor and to a large door she’d pegged as the entrance to the keep. He’d been too fast for her, scarily fast, and the look on his face as he’d come after her had robbed her of her ability to breathe. Stamped onto his face was the exhilaration at having to chase her, and a determination to catch her. He had the eyes of a predator, tested on many a battlefield, and he knew when he had the upper hand. She’d lost the battle before the chase had even begun.

She stood, limbs refusing to respond to her commands to run, to fight as he spent a few moments fascinated by the moving hands of her watch. Turning away from it, he eyed her with a fervency that had her knees buckling and heat storming through her body. Forget running. Right now, she probably couldn’t even walk. Oh man, she was in trouble. Big trouble. How had she ever thought she could match wits with him?

“Why did you run from me?”

She jerked her wrist, attempting to pull away, but he wouldn’t release her, instead stepping closer. Her heart thumped against her rib cage, threatening to bust out and desert ship. It wouldn’t surprise her if he could feel her pulse pounding away at her wrist. She retreated further, but he followed, backing her into the wall.

“It is a simple question.”

Erin’s breath stalled, the hard stone wall at her back, an equally daunting wall of muscle in front of her. A big, dark chevalier, he loomed over her. Her legs trembled, the consistency of putty rather than flesh and bone.

“Last night, you seemed angry that I had the amulet. And then you came at me so fast… Look, I’m… I’m… I don’t follow the old religions. I’m not a witch.” Her bottom lip trembled despite her efforts to control it. “Let’s clear that up now. I found the amulet. It’s not mine. I don’t knowwhoit belongs to.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

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